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There’s an important initiative underway in Austin this week. The effort is “Your Path to Austin”, which is an update of the City’s Bicycle Master Plan and the creation of a new Urban Trails Plan. These plans will help us achieve a connected and protected active transportation network and increase opportunities for people to safely bike around town, regardless of age or biking ability. Here’s the details of events where you can learn more and give your input:

Cities for Cycling Roadshow and Austin Bike and Urban Trails Plan Open House

Tuesday, November 12 5:30 – 8:30 p.m. (Presentation at 6 p.m.. Free. Light refreshments served)

St. David’s Episcopal Church, 301 E. 8th St., Austin

Don’t miss this opportunity to hear from leading experts from around the country as they share innovations and ideas for creating an active transportation network in their cities. You’ll also learn about Austin’s Bike and Urban Trail Plan and have the opportunity to give input to help shape our city’s plan. Click here to view the event flier.

The City is also hosting presentations and interactive open house events both north and south during the week. Here are the event details (content of the presentation will be the same at these events):

Austin Bike and Urban Trails Plan Presentation and Open House Events

Wednesday, November 13 5:30 – 8:30 p.m. (Presentation at 7 p.m.)

Lanier High School Cafeteria, 1201 Payton Gin Road, Austin

Thursday, November 14 5:30 – 8:30 p.m. (Presentation at 7 p.m.)

First Evangelical Free Church of Austin, Community Hall, 4220 Monterey Oaks Blvd., Austin

If you can’t attend an open house, you can also visit the project’s website to learn more and to complete a survey to make sure Your Path to Austin reflects your views!

Please do send this information on to others you think would be interested!

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We here at Reconnect Austin couldn’t relay this sentiment any better than the Observation Deck‘s Adam Rogers does:

“Tear it all down!

“Well, OK, not all of it. Let’s start with the freeways. They look permanent, sure, but most highways, especially the ones cutting through city centers, aren’t that old — only a few decades. And in some towns, they do more harm than good. They don’t decrease traffic, they cut sterile swaths through once-vibrant neighborhoods (or cut parts of the city off from what could be useful public spaces). So how about we all make like San Francisco, or Boston, or Seoul, and tear down the freeways we don’t need.

“This week on Observation Deck I’m thinking about what could happen if we tear up some of those ribbons of roads and start over again. We might end up with better cities”…To view the movie, please click here.

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“The Texas Department of Transportation has also taken note of the problems with 35, noting that the design of this highway causes decreased speeds and increased congestion. Something has to be done, and the two plans TxDOT proposes include one conventional solution (simply updating the current infrastructure) and one new solution (creating a depression for traffic lanes from 8th Street to Holly Street).

“Doing a conventional update on the highway would just be more of the same. Depressing the lanes is a good start, but then you have wasted space at street level. The Reconnect Austin plan proposes to actually bury those depressed lanes, creating more “people space” where car space used to be. When this was done in Boston, the “capped” area became public park space. It’s a beautiful promenade of sorts that runs through the middle of the city. People sit on the benches or get some exercise during their lunch breaks.

“In addition to the additional green space, the cut and cap option would also provide more developable land that’s now consumed by on and off ramps. Reconnect Austin says 30 acres of frontage road could be turned into prime real estate for businesses, restaurants and homes. As more people see what can be created when we replace concrete structures with green space and people-focused space, maybe more people will be encouraged to get out of their cars and exist in that space.”

Click here to read the full article: Stephanie Myers, “I-35 Cut and Cap is Good for Austin,” Austin Post, September 5, 2013