East 12th Street

Thank you for visiting our virtual open house to give feedback on proposed changes to improve the safety and comfort of people traveling, living, shopping, playing and celebrating along East 12th Street between Navasota Street and Webberville Road.

The comment period closed on July 5, 2023. Results will be posted on the  project webpage .

East 12th Street is a vibrant street full of history, culture, commerce, natural beauty and people moving about to get where they need to go. Austin Transportation and Public Works (TPW) is evaluating East 12th Street between Navasota Street to Webberville Road for safety and mobility improvements that will be enabled following routine maintenance – pavement resurfacing – scheduled for later this summer. When streets are resurfaced, there is an opportunity to reorganize how that street space is used to improve safety, mobility and connectivity for everyone.

East 12th Street moves through the heart of the African American Cultural Heritage District and serves the neighborhoods of Central East Austin, Foster Heights, Chestnut, Rosewood and Homewood Heights. The street provides important east-west connectivity for walking, bicycling and driving as well as the welcoming doors into many businesses, people's homes, parks, trails and historic gathering places.

The goal of this project is to improve safety for everyone who uses these streets as well as connectivity and comfort to and from destinations along and across East 12th Street.

Proposed changes are informed by several guiding documents including the East 12th Street District Economic Strategy, Resolution 20210902-048 calling for short-term design solutions to increase pedestrian mobility and safety, the Austin Bicycle Plan, the Austin Sidewalk and ADA Transition Plan and CapMetro’s Service Plan.

The slider below shows the typical existing cross-section of the street compared to the proposed typical cross-section.

In general, the project would upgrade the existing painted bicycle lanes to protected bicycle lanes, construct new and improved pedestrian crossings and optimize bus stop locations to improve transit access and service. In order to make space for these improvements, existing on-street parking would generally need to be removed. A parking analysis was performed at several times of day and days of the week to best understand parking utilization along E. 12th Street. Where on-street parking demand is consistent and alternative locations to park nearby (such as side streets, driveways or accessible lots) do not exist, on-street parking would remain in place.  

The existing unprotected bicycle lanes along East 12 ^th  Street would be upgraded to protected bike lanes. Along residential frontage, concrete buttons would be installed in the buffers to enable trash collection and mail service. Elsewhere, bicycle lanes will be protected with flexible posts. At bus stops, the design provides openings in the bikeway physical protection to allow buses to access the curb. Ultimately, stops would be evaluated for reconstruction to integrate bike lanes so people on bicycles don’t have to enter the motor vehicle lane to get around stopped buses.

Pedestrian crossing islands are currently being planned throughout the project limits to provide shorter, safer crossings, improve driver yielding and help manage motor vehicle speeds. While the islands would initially be installed using temporary materials, they would eventually all be built in concrete.

Sidewalks will be improved along East 12th Street from IH-35 to Springdale Road. This work would occur in phases over the next couple of years. In some spots where utilities and other obstacles such as heritage trees prevent complete sidewalk construction behind the existing curb at necessary widths to meet ADA accessibility, street space will be reserved for the future sidewalk.

CapMetro's Local Route 5 (Woodrow/East 12th) runs along the full length of this project. The project seeks to improve bus service along this route by improving access to and from the bus stop, as well as improving the street design to better support the speed and reliability of the bus schedule.

To achieve these service improvements, the project team has been evaluating all stops and is proposing a number of changes, including closing and relocating stops to improve spacing and safe pedestrian crossings to access them.

And as shared above, bus stops would remain accessible in the first phase of the project by introducing gaps in the bicycle lane protection at bus stops to allow CapMetro buses to access the curb. A future phase of the project would construct a number of "floating bus stops" which support better transit access and operations by placing the bikeway behind the bus stop to remove conflicts between buses and people walking or bicycling.

Proposed pedestrian crossing island locations:

• Navasota Street
• San Bernard Street
• Angelina Street
• Leona Street
• Salina Street
• Poquito Street
• Coleto Street

Proposed bus stop changes:

• Move westbound stop at San Bernard Street to Navasota Street to improve stop spacing
• Move eastbound stop at Chicon Street to the east side of the intersection ("far-side") to improve bus operations

At the intersection of Comal Street and East 12th Street, a protected intersection would be installed using flex posts, enabling physical protection of the bikeway from all directions. This approach also shortens the distance across the general travel lane for more vulnerable street users and improves visibility and predictability for everyone. In order to make space for the protected intersection, the left turn lanes on East 12th Street at Comal Street would be removed. The drawing below above depicts these changes.

At the intersection of Chicon Street and East 12th Street, new left turn lanes would be installed on Chicon Street. Protected bicycle lanes would be installed along on East 12th Street through the Chicon Street intersection except where driveways exist. Due to space constraints, on-street parking would need to be removed in order to fit the bicycle lanes and preserve the left turn lanes. In addition to making it more comfortable to ride through this intersection on a bicycle, this spatial tradeoff is expected to create a more comfortable environment for people walking in front of area businesses. An assessment of available parking nearby confirms parking is available off-street in surface lots as well as on side streets. Access to Chicon Street businesses from these side streets and parking lots would be further supported with improved pedestrian crossings. The drawing above depicts these changes.

The intersection of East 12th Street and Chestnut Avenue / Pleasant Valley Road will largely remain the same. However, the slip lane on Pleasant Valley Road would be modified with new striping to a "smart right" design to reduce conflicts between right-turning vehicles and other street users. The drawing above depicts these changes.

Proposed pedestrian crossing island locations:

• Singleton Avenue
• Cedar Ave (existing)
• New York Drive
• Boggy Creek Greenbelt Trail crossing (existing)
• Alexander Avenue
• Harvey Street
• McKinley Avenue

Proposed bus stop changes:

• Close both stops at the Boggy Creek Greenbelt Trail crossing due to low ridership
• Move eastbound stop at Alexander Street closer to Hargrave Street
• Close eastbound stop between Hargrave Street and Harvey Street due to low ridership
• Close both stops at McKinley Avenue to improve stop spacing
• Move westbound stop at Airport Boulevard to the west side of the intersection ("far-side")

In partnership with a Speed Management Program project along Hargrave Street, the intersection of East 12th Street and Hargrave Street would eventually be rebuilt to improve safety for all users. Following pavement resurfacing, the two slip lanes on to and off of Hargrave Street would be closed and replaced with protected bicycle lanes using paint and flexible posts. Future concrete work would rebuild the intersection to include improved sidewalks and landscaped green infrastructure. The design also proposes closing the westbound left turn lane on East 12th Street. The drawing above depicts these changes.

East of Hargrave Street, the width of the street allows for the combination of protected bike lanes with on-street parking on the north curb. Bicycle lanes will still be buffered and protected, with protection designed to allow for vehicles to access driveways and parking. See the cross-section below.

Improvements at the intersection of East 12th Street and Airport Boulevard are anticipated to  be constructed through the Corridor Program Office's (CPO)  Airport Boulevard Corridor  project. The near-term striping changes on East 12th Street would match CPO's project plan. The existing five-lane cross-section will be replaced with three lanes: a single through lane in each direction with facing dedicated left turn lanes. The drawing above depicts these changes

Proposed pedestrian crossing island locations:

• Ridge Drive
• Sarabeth Way / Greenwood Avenue
• E.M. Franklin Avenue
• Deloney Street
• Cometa Street

Proposed bus stop changes:

• Consolidate stop pairs at Greenwood Avenue and at E.M. Franklin Avenue into one stop pair at Sarabeth Way / Greenwood Avenue
• Move eastbound stop at Givens Park to the other side of the Pedestrian Hybrid Beacon (PHB) crossing
• Move westbound stop at Cometa Street closer to the PHB crossing
• Move westbound stop near Webberville Road around the corner to Webberville Road through a separate project

Between Cometa Street and Springdale Road, some existing parking will be preserved at residential frontage. Here, the design proposes "floating" parking, placed in between the travel lane and the bicycle lane. See the cross-section below.

At Springdale Road, the protected bike lanes will continue all the way through the signalized intersection, tying into the recently installed protected bike lanes on Springdale Road. No changes are planned for the lane configuration at this intersection, although the new striping is expected to better direct motor vehicle movements to improve overall safety. The drawing above depicts these changes.

The project ends where East 12th Street connects to Webberville Road. The project will tie into existing pedestrian crossing improvements and a bike ramp on the approach to Webberville Road. A protected bike lane will be installed on E. 12th Street for people turning from Webberville Road onto E. 12th Street. The drawing above depicts these changes.

Feedback from people that use these streets is key to developing a project plan that best reflects the needs of the community. The comment period closed on July 5, 2023. Results will be posted on the  project webpage .

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