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Healthy Streets Initiative

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Healthy Streets Initiative

Austin, USA
About the city. The highest average daily congestion in Austin is 44% by 2020.

Goal

The main idea is to create places that promote physical and mental health and provide safe options to access jobs and services.

Implementation period. The Healthy Streets Initiative was created in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Nevertheless, it is still relevant today.

Fact

The same project was implemented in London. The Healthy Streets Approach focuses on creating pleasant and safe streets, where noise, air pollution, accessibility and lack of seating and shelter are not barriers for people.

Solutions

Healthy Streets are achieved by creating “soft closures” on select local streets through traffic and maintaining local access only for residents, deliveries, and emergency vehicles.

Streets are being evaluated for their ability to offer recreation and for more comfortable connections to jobs and essential services. Streets with frequent transit services are generally being avoided. Austin Transportation also considers public feedback in designating future Healthy Streets.

Austin Transportation has started an initial phased wind-down of the program based on use, feedback, cost, and staff capacity. The first set of streets was removed in early October along Whispering Oaks Drive, Seminar Ridge Drive, Leo Street, Marsh Drive from Monarch Drive to William Cannon Drive. Segments along Ventura Dr., Madera Dr., and Catalina Dr. were removed in mid-October. Routes on Garden Villa Lane (Banister Lane to Barton Skyway), the northern section of Comal Street (Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard to Rosewood Street, Riverside Drive, and Pleasant Valley Rd. (Canterbury St. To S. Lakeshore Blvd) were removed in April.

There are some benefits of the Healthy Streets Initiative:

  • family bonding
  • strengthened neighbourhood communities
  • improvement in air quality.

The most common type of Healthy Street installation features a sawhorse type barricade and barrel with attached signage informing travellers that they are on a Healthy Street.

Challenges

The initiative faced the fact that the country began to withdraw from lockdown. All vehicles (except for delivery drivers and first responders) were being encouraged to take different routes. Thus, the number of streets decreased over time because it interfered with traffic.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S82xEEBDH4I

Team

Austin City Council, Austin Transportation.

Timeline

The Healthy Streets Initiative has been in place for around a year. An initial reduction of this program began in October 2020.  However, with the surge in cases and hospitalizations in late 2020 and early 2021, Austin Transportation (ATD) paused the reduction efforts, preserving the current five miles of designated streets. The temporary routes on Riverside Drive (Lee Barton Drive to traffic circle), Garden Villa Lane (Banister Lane to Barton Skyway) and the northern section of Comal Street (Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard to Rosewood Street) are in the process of being removed. Approximately 4 miles of temporary Healthy Street routes will remain in place, including Comal Street (Rosewood Avenue to Nash Hernandez Drive), Avenue G, Bouldin Avenue, and South 3rd Street.

Although the number of streets has decreased, the project continues to live.

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