Key North Austin Artery Eyed For Major Revamping

NORTH AUSTIN, TX — A street corridor plan for one of the city's arteries was released on Tuesday, outlining a $33.7 million proposal to add a dedicated bus lane, wider sidewalks, protected bike lanes and other enhancements along a mile-long stretch of the road.

The portion of Guadalupe being eyed for redevelopment is a one-mile stretch along the University of Texas campus. The recommendations are expected to be taken up by city council members by next spring, with financing potentially coming from mobility bonds approved by voters last year.

Guadalupe Street is commonly known in the local parlance as "The Drag," and it can sometimes double as a sentiment to negotiate its path. It's one of the busiest arteries in the city, according to the report, with some 7,500 pedestrians crossing it from east to west during rush hour each day. From north to south, some 2,000 cars traverse it in the rush hour.

To mitigate the congestion, the report calls for a number of solutions:

• Adding a dedicated bus lane in each of the road's direction, from Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard to 29th Street.

• Reducing the number of car lanes on the targeted portion, from two lanes in each direction to one in each direction.

• A revamping of 24th Street, from Lamar Boulevard to Guadalupe Street, is being eyed. The stretch with two car lanes in each direction would reduct it to a single car lane in each direction with a center left-turn lane and an eastbound bike lane. In this scenario, cyclists traveling westbound would share the road with vehicles.

• Converting a portion of Nueces Street running north of 24th Street to two-way traffic as an alternative to Guadalupe Street.

• Removing on-street parking on the mile-long portion of the roadway, thus clearing up space for protected bike lanes and wider sidewalks.
• On the same bike lane front, the plan calls for adding a southbound bike path on a portion of Nueces and a northbound bike path on Hemphill Park to provide access.

To view the full report, click here.

>>> Rendering of a revamped portion of Guadalupe Street by Kimley Horn, planning and design engineering consultants