Is Austin Bike Friendly for Families?
I see lots of people biking around Austin. What I don’t see are many families who bike together. Is Austin a family-friendly biker city? A good question came in from Samantha. She is wondering the same thing and hoping to get her family and their bikes out on the main roads in Austin.
Hello,
I have three kids ranging from age eleven to three and we love to ride our bikes. I would like to ditch the car more often, especially when the weather is nice and not too hot yet, but I don’t know just how safe it is to ride our bikes as a family to and from work or school. The exercise factor is one aspect that is really motivating us to ride more than we drive and we are also trying to teach our kids how to live a little greener. I know there are trails all around Austin, but it would be nice to use the main roads to get to many of the places that aren’t accessible via the trails. What I’m wondering is, are Austin drivers cautious enough to watch out for families biking or is it just too dangerous? I have been taking more notice while I’m out on the roads in Austin and I really don’t see many families on bikes. Thanks for your help and I hope that there are some of your readers who can help us out. Are there any laws that I need to be aware of before we hit streets?
I’ve done a lot of biking in Austin. It’s not bad on the whole, but there are those drivers who pass you just a little too close for comfort.
There are some sites out there all about biking in Austin such as: http://www.austinbikeroutes.com/
The City of Austin also has a great bike map: http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/bicycle/bikemap.htm
You can plan out routes on the safer streets that have “bike lanes.”
Another safer option is to take your kids biking on the Shoal Creek trails or checking out the Veloway: http://www.veloway.com/
I just wanted to share that Brushy Creek has great trails for family biking. I recently discovered this well kept Austin secret. There are long trails that travel through several parks and green areas alternating between paved sidewalks and gravel trails (similar to town lake). The best part is that unlike town like it’s not so crowded. You can ride from the duck pond to the dinosaur digging pit to the sprinkler park or any adventure in between.
I don’t think that Austin is a particularly good city for young children to cycle through the main streets for a variety of reasons — first is that it’s a hilly city. Riding these hills is difficult enough for good cyclist on good road bikes.
A kid on a 20″ BMX bike or a training-wheeled bike? Not going to be much fun.
Also, while there are some great biking routes in town, many of them also require you to ride on some not so great (read: unsafe) roads to get to or from them.
Luckily for you though, there are some great places to go ride your bike with your kids.
Try the Veloway. I see families with small children riding out there almost every time I’m out there.
I recommend posting this question to a local bicycling e-mail forum found at http://bicycleaustin.info/
I do see and know families who bicycle in Austin for transportation and recreation, but I do think that it is tricky to learn how to make it safe: what routes?, where in the road should one ride?, who should go first, you or your child?
Any city can make its street safe from motor violence, but it takes a concerted effort from a large group with broad interests. Make your voice heard with your neighborhood organization, the Austin City Council, CAMPO, and TxDOT.