Friends of Hyde Park supports and recommends designating the following streets as Healthy Streets in Hyde Park. Healthy Streets (previously referred to as “Slow Streets”) will turn selected streets into pedestrian/bicycle-priority streets while allowing local traffic to enable safe exercise during, and possibly after, the COVID-19 pandemic. The short and long term benefits could be profound.
The streets Friends of Hyde Park recommends are streets that are already designated as “All Ages and Abilities Bicycle Facilities” on the “Bicycle Priority Network” and can be easily included into a larger network of Healthy Streets that connect to surrounding neighborhoods or can help enhance the Bicycle Priority Network throughout Austin.
46th St and 47th St
As well as being designated as All Ages and Abilities Bicycle Facilities on the Bicycle Priority Network, 46th St and 47th St in North Hyde Park is currently undergoing the public process to become a “Neighborhood Bikeway” and would be a perfect candidate as a Healthy Street. It provides Hyde Park residents walkable access to the Triangle and the numerous amenities there. 46th St would also make an ideal candidate because there is little to no cross traffic, since the UT Intramural Fields run along the north side of the street. There are no sidewalks on this street and having a Healthy Street designation would greatly enhance the safety of this commonly used street for biking and walking.
Avenue F (From 46th St to 51st St)
This portion of Avenue F in North Hyde Park can connect neighborhoods in the north through an extension of the Bicycle Priority Network as well as connect to South Hyde Park through Speedway. It also follows the All Ages and Abilities Bicycle Facilities on the Bicycle Priority Network. It’s a common walking and biking route, but lacks sidewalks for safety so a Healthy Street destination would be beneficial to residents.
Alternative: Rowena (From 46th St to 51st St)
While Rowena is not on the Bicycle Priority Network it would make an equally great alternative to Avenue F (From 46th St to 51st St) and runs parallel to that same street. An advantage to Rowena over Avenue F would be that there would be less cross traffic, since the west side of Rowena faces the UT Intramural Fields. That might make this the best choice for this part of the route, even though it’s not part of the Bicycle Priority Network.
Speedway
Speedway is a heavily biked street that provides a great north-south connector route. It’s labeled as an All Ages and Abilities Bicycle Facilities on the Bicycle Priority Network. It can connect to Avenue F (From 46th St to 51st St) to extend Healthy Streets into North Hyde Park or further to the south along Speedway. Another advantage is that the increased density of this street would allow more people to move around safely than other streets.
Alternative: Avenue F (From 38th St to 46th St)
While this portion of Avenue F is not on the Bicycle Priority Network it would make a decent alternative to Speedway, if Speedway was not selected as a Healthy Street, but Speedway should be considered first. This portion of Avenue F runs parallel to Speedway and can also be extended farther south and north along Avenue F/Rowena.
Duval Street: Alternative To Other Interior Streets
Duval St is one of the busiest bicycle corridors in the city with bicycles making up 9% of all traffic. It’s labeled as an All Ages and Abilities Bicycle Facilities on the Bicycle Priority Network, but doesn’t have protected bike lanes. A crash analysis from APD showed 25% of crashes on Duval St involved a person walking or bicycling. Becoming a Healthy Street could greatly improve the safety of Duval. Duval might not be ideal because the bus route might have to be temporarily diverted from Duval St in order for Duval St to become a Healthy Street. However, this could be a good alternative if the recommended options above were not selected as Healthy Streets and the bus route would be temporarily diverted to an interior Hyde Park street or the bus route could continue to run on Duval St as a Healthy Street.
Information About Friends of Hyde Park
Friends of Hyde Park is currently the largest neighborhood association in our neighborhood with over 500 current members (approximately 50% renters and 50% homestead homeowners). Friends of Hyde Park advocates for more affordable housing and a more walkable, bikeable, inclusive, environmentally sustainable, and transit friendly neighborhood.
Board of Directors of Friends of Hyde Park
Pete Gilcrease
Thomas Ates
Matt Desloge
Teresa Griffin
Tania Oropeza
Scott Snyder