Austin kickstarts code changes to crack down on illegal parking in bike lanes
AUSTIN (KXAN) — On Thursday, Austin City Council approved beginning the process to help crack down on drivers parking in city bike lanes.
Council greenlit initiating a code amendment change process that'll come back to council Oct. 24 for full consideration. The resolution is designed to restrict parking in bike lanes across the city, with a six-month grace period planned where the city will issue warnings and education information before citations roll out.
The only exceptions to the code change would be on neighborhood bikeways, defined as "low-speed and low-volume streets where vehicles are not separated from cyclists," per city documents.
It also called for a dedicated budget to support a fleet of electric bikes, which would be used by Transportation Mobility Service officers. The city is working to create a volunteer bike lane enforcement program to help support the parking changes.
When it comes to first-time violators, they'll be eligible to complete a Bicycle Friendly Driver Training Program and have their citation ticket waived.
During the Austin Mobility Committee's March 28 meeting, city officials said the Austin Transportation and Public Works Department had issued 323 citations since last August, as well as towed nine illegally parked vehicles.
The next step for the Austin city manager was to issue a memo by May 28 outlining "recommended visual cues for unprotected bike lanes with cost information," as well as more details on the e-bike fleet for enforcement officers. By Oct. 17, staff will provide an update to the mobility committee on Code amendments, goals, the driver training program, the volunteer enforcement program as well as the public education campaign efforts.
More details on the change are available online.