The Austin Bike Committee’s pamphlet is one step closer to the print shop.

Tuesday, April 25, 2000

The Austin Bike Committee’s pamphlet is one step closer to the print shop.

Planned to be written in both English and Spanish, the pamphlet will outline basic rules of the road, safety tips, hand signals and a map of safe bike routes through the city’s streets as well as the trail system that is blossoming in and around Austin.

The committee, which is made up largely of citizen volunteers, is working with the city engineering department and City Council member Mickey Jorgenson to make Austin a safer place to bike for recreation as well as simple transportation. Members met Wednesday to work on the pamphlet.

The bike routes are the sticking point right now, Jorgenson said.

"They haven’t been looked at or determined for so many years, we’re looking at them all over again," she said. "One thing we’re trying to do is look at schools and other destinations and working from there to try and figure out safe ways to get from A to B."

Jorgenson, who also chairs the council’s Public Works Committee, said the pamphlet probably won’t be available until 2001, but the next step is getting the basic outline to a printer to get an idea of the costs of producing the brochure.

One thing the council member is hoping will happen soon is making the area safer around the Holiday Inn and the Interstate 90 bridge on Fourth Street NW. Possible actions likely will include the construction of a sidewalk on the Holiday Inn side of the road as well as the addition of a protected walk phase to the signal light, which would allow bikers and pedestrians to cross the ramp without being in danger from cars turning off the busy thoroughfare.

"There are things we can do sooner rather than later that don’t have to cost a lot," Jorgenson said. "We’re looking at some changes to signage, traffic lights and sidewalks."

The next meeting of the bike committee will be at 5:15 p.m. May 24 in the conference room on the lower level of the Municipal Building. Committee members will continue their discussion of safe bike routes within the city. Call Jorgenson at 433-1230 for more information.