A $37.5 million investment in safer, more convenient mobility came to fruition this fall, one year ahead of schedule, with the construction and repair of 56 miles of sidewalk in the city. The funds came from a 2016 election in which Austin voters approved a $720 million transportation bond — the largest in the city's history.
In the eight years since the bond passed, the city has been building and improving new streets, sidewalks, urban trails, bikeways, and safe routes to schools. The first project was a new sidewalk on Chesterfield Lane, completed in 2017.
Austin voters also approved a $20 million bond investment in 2018 for sidewalk rehabilitation and an additional $80 million for sidewalks in 2020.
The city's 2023 Sidewalks, Crossings and Shared Streets plan identified a pressing need for 810 miles of sidewalks and 370 miles of "shared streets," where traffic calming and pedestrian-centered design are used to make neighborhood streets without sidewalks safer and more comfortable for people walking, biking, and rolling.
