Glass, dirt & debris: What does it take to keep Austin's bike lanes clean?

AUSTIN (KXAN) — At the City of Austin's Bicycle Advisory Council meeting in October, members requested an in-depth look at the city's bike lane cleaning program. It's run by Austin Resource Recovery (ARR), a city department responsible for waste collection, recycling, and street cleaning.

The City of Austin said it's cleaned up over 5,000 tons of debris from roadways so far this year as part of its street sweeping programs.

ARR is funded through the Clean Community Fee that Austin residents pay for through their utility bill.

ARR Assistant Director Amy Slagle said street sweeping crews have swept over 78,000 miles so far this year, including over 4,000 bike lane miles.

"Anywhere that you're going to have a higher level of traffic, you're going to see more trash, so you could probably identify an area in every district in Austin," Slagle said when asked where her team sees the most debris.

Austin cyclists have told KXAN they sometimes see dirt, debris, or even glass on bike lanes throughout the city.

Slagle said as the city has grown, so has the need to provide a safe and attractive environment for pedestrians and bikers.

"It's something the department is focused on, making sure that our community is clean," Slagle said.

ARR has three sweeping programs: residential, boulevards, and protected bike lanes.

Crews work with COA Council Districts to clean routes along residential streets up to six times each year.

Larger city streets like Burnet Road and Lamar Boulevard are swept twice a month, overnight.

Protected bike lanes constructed along boulevards and neighborhood streets are cleaned twice a month. ARR reports there are currently 108.8 miles of protected one-way bike lanes and 29.7 miles of protected two-way bike lanes across Austin.

The city projects that 17 miles of protected bike lanes will be added next year.