is Austin good bike commuting city? (Houston, Spring: best cities, 2013, housing)

[MtnLion512]

Originally Posted by eepstein

300 days of sunshine per year?? Are you kidding? For 3 months in the winter, you BEARLY see the sun. And what is this spring and fall you are talking about?? Not here buddy. Quite honestly, I don't know what's worse, the winter or the summer. Almost constant year round wind makes for difficult biking most of the time.

Hee hee.

[burlhammonds]

I hope others will not follow his example!

___________________________
If you or someone you love has been injured by a reckless or dangerous driver, Austin car accident lawyer can help.

[verybadgnome]

I swear I have seen signs on MoPac entrance ramps indicating bikes are not allowed.......now the frontage roads are definitely legal for cyclists. The one part of MoPac that I thought bikes could use the main lanes is where it crosses Barton Creek due to their being no frontage for that stretch.

I bike every day to work 2.3 miles. I can get a little sweaty but I just towel off and use a product that masks any slight odor that I might emit. No complaints yet. Now the hot weather is when you go home but at that point who cares. Hell I know people who sweat when they eat lunch. Are they social pariahs?

Austin overall is a decent city to bike in. There are a lot more bikers now than just 10 years ago and motorists are getting used to seeing them. As a matter of fact two wheels - whether in the form of scooters, motorcyclists, or bicycles - are becoming ubiquitous and motorists expect them.

A lot of the bike infrastructure is pretty good from the Lance Armstrong bikeway to the Pfluger Bridge to the multitudes of bike routes. It's all good enough for me to use my bike 6-7 days a week and my car only about 3.

[eepstein]

Nah, Austin is far cloudier than Dallas in the winter months.

Originally Posted by artsyguy

For 3 months you could not see the sun in Austin? Are you sure that wasn't smog and pollution?

[CptnRn]

Originally Posted by verybadgnome

I swear I have seen signs on MoPac entrance ramps indicating bikes are not allowed.......now the frontage roads are definitely legal for cyclists. The one part of MoPac that I thought bikes could use the main lanes is where it crosses Barton Creek due to their being no frontage for that stretch.

I just checked the Texas Drivers Handbook, Chapter 13, Bicycle Vehicle Law and Safety. I could find no prohibition against riding a bicycle on any highway or frontage road. It did say "12. Bicyclists may ride on shoulders."

Here are the City of Austin Traffic Regulations for Bicycles.
http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/publicwor..._2_bicycle.pdf

There are a few sidewalks where a bicycle is prohibited but I see no indication they are prohibited on roadways. Other then the quotes below I found no indication of which streets might prohibit bicycles.

(B) Unless a bike lane is specifically designated otherwise, a bicyclist riding in a bike lane may not travel in the opposite direction of adjacent motor vehicles in the roadway.

§ 12-2-17 RIDING ON RESTRICTED OR PROHIBITED STREETS.
A bicyclist may not ride a bicycle on a street where bicycle riding is prohibited or on a street during the hours that bicycle riding is prohibited on the street.

[verybadgnome]

There are no bikes allowed signs at the Far West entrance going south on MoPac:

far west blvd austin - Google Maps

[CptnRn]

Originally Posted by verybadgnome

There are no bikes allowed signs at the Far West entrance going south on MoPac:

far west blvd austin - Google Maps

That's good. But it seems real inconsistent. It is strange that there are no such signs at the three I checked on my end of town.

Slaughter Lane entrance to MoPac north bound.
W Slaughter Ln, Austin, TX 78748 - Google Maps

Or at Davis Lane to MoPac north bound:
W Slaughter Ln, Austin, TX 78748 - Google Maps

Or William Cannon to MoPac north bound
W Slaughter Ln, Austin, TX 78748 - Google Maps

Or at Southwest Blvd to MoPac north bound:
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=W+Slau...,,0,14.87&z=15

This later one is shocking when you consider that there is no shoulder on the highway where the MoPac bridge crosses Barton Creek.
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=W+Slau...,,0,13.16&z=18

Continuing North on Loop 1, I did not encounter a no bicycle sign at an on ramp until I got to the Ben White Blvd/Loop 360 to MoPac north bound ramp.
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=W+Slau...3,,0,7.25&z=16

[schloopy farnsplum]

Bicycles are allowed to ride on any street in the City of Austin. This includes Interstate 35, Mopac (Loop 1), US Highway 183, and the Toll Way, (except 183A). There are signs prohibiting bicycles on Mopac, but they are not enforceable because the city ordinance has been lifted http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/police/bicycles.htm

[ajfa]

I currently commute in the northwest suburbs of Austin.

Year-round good weather, lots of quiet streets with big shoulders even when there aren't bike lanes. If you're willing to explore you can usually find a "safe" route. Yes there are careless drivers, but overall I'd say they're more used to seeing bikes than other places I've lived. My biggest complaint is there are too many roads where bikes lanes die out, especially major intersections with interstates (hello, Braker Lane!). This would not be hard to fix, they just need to do it!

Compared to Chicago, it's great.

[LiveUrban]

Austin Bicycle Mode Share (% of people that commute by bike by neighborhood in 2011)