AUSTIN, Texas — The historic and infamous Sixth Street in Austin is on track to get a revamp. Many people across Texas have been there at one point in their life. The city plans to expand the sidewalks to make more space for the thousands of people who pour into the area, but not everyone is happy about it.
Adam Greenfield rides his bike to most places or uses public transportation.
“It feels amazing. It’s great exercise. I feel more connected with the city,” said Greenfield.
Greenfield is the perfect example of what the city wants people to do as the capital’s population grows and attracts more tourists. Data from the City of Austin shows that by 2039 they want 50% of people walking, biking or taking transit to work. Austin released its new plans for Sixth Street, but it had no bike lanes.
The City of Austin asked the community what they wanted Sixth Street to look like. There were three options presented to the public. The one with bike lanes on both sides of the street received 50% support from community members. However, the city chose option three. It’s the option without bike lanes, and only 18% of Austinites supported it.
The city’s pick provides the widest pedestrian zones, two westbound car lanes, as well as a flexible curb access lane on one side of the street for passenger loading and deliveries.
According to the City of Austin, anywhere between 8,000 and 25,000 people gather on Sixth Street every day. City officials said they need to prioritize pedestrian space.
“It’s really to have the widest possible pedestrian space because of the numbers of pedestrians using Sixth Street,” said Cody Stone, managing engineer for the City of Austin.
The Austin Core Transportation Plan (ACT) is a long-term vision for enhancing transportation and mobility options in and around downtown. Austin lists “providing space for bicycles” as one of its goals. In the plan, it lists four streets as priority projects. Sixth Street is on the list.
We asked the City of Austin why it chose option three. A spokesperson sent us the following statement:
”The ACT Plan included three alternatives for 6th Street that were evaluated as part of the preliminary engineering report. Alternative 1 and 2 include renderings of 6th Street with bicycle lanes, while Alternative 3 did not include bicycle lanes. Alternative 3 was selected to move forward as it provides the widest pedestrian zones, supporting business vitality and ensuring safe movement of heavy foot traffic. There are multiple opportunities to add and improve the quality of bicycle lanes on other downtown streets to create a safer, more connected cyclist network while allowing Sixth Street to prioritize pedestrian space. City staff remain committed to providing important east/west connectivity for cyclists through downtown, including considering bicycle lanes on adjacent streets identified as priority projects in the ACT Plan (5th, 7th, and 8th).”
But people like Greenfield point to an inconsistent message from the city.
“We’re saying to the city, follow your own plan,” said Greenfield.