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New bridge design at Longhorn dam


mack_turtle
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Fantastic.  The guard rail on the water side is very low relative to a cyclist;  I hate it.   I have cycling friends who take their chances with traffic rather than use the walkway. 

Alas, five years to completion?  But yes, this will be a wonderful upgrade to the Lady Bird Lake Trail loop. 

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Sure this is cool for us but I don't think it necessary. The dam crossing is bad now but it is possible to cross there. I would be happy with the fix they talk about. Just widen it.

$12 million. Geez. That would pay the salary for 200 policeman for a year. Or..fill in the blank with your more utilitarian use of $12 million.

Cities are always trying to build cool things to make their city more like Disneyland. But Disneyland costs $350 a day to "live" in!

Of course I'll use this. I think the concrete bridge thing on the south shore is cool and I love the views and the vibe and the whole thing. I just feel guilty using it, like the bridge over Barton Creek, same idea. Maybe I'm scared of angry non-biking citizen in cars, with their pent up resentment of the money spent on cool biking toys that we've been getting. I imagine them all mad in their cars muttering to themselves, "I'll teach those money spending biker jerks a thing or too" as they "accidentally" brush me with their car.

 

 

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Access to recreation by water creates a healthier populace, both physically and in terms of mental health, so infrastructure that supports this is important. 

My favorite moment riding on the board walk was coming across two girls under full steam in full-on  quinceanera mode; yards and yards of billowing  neon pink taffeta and net and lots of makeup,  in the middle of a weekday.  Not possible to say where they had come from or where they were headed.  Some examples of quinceanera dresses here

For those not familiar, a quinceanera is a 15th birthday celebration marking the passage from girlhood to womanhood in Hispanic culture, with both festive and religious connotations -- a debutante ball of sorts, with family, food and church.  Have also seen quiceanera photo shoots underway at Zilker Botanical Gardens;  the subjects were dropped off in limos and the guys were in tuxes.  It's a very big deal.  

Oh, and I'm fine with whatever bridge solution happens, as long as it's wider with a much higher guardrail. 

Edited by June Bug
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That is pretty much the reason I ride the hike and bike trail for my daily exercise. I can do an urban ride through town and that is fine, but it feels like work. Hit the bike path and you're with other people, more fit than you, working out. It feels more vibrant. And the proximity to water is a much nicer view. It is awesome to have such great access to such a trail; I probably ride it 3-4 times a week.

As to the Quinceañera, we were lucky enough to go to one this year. It was a window into a culture that most of the people I know have never seen, nor will ever see. Quite the spectacle. 

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19 hours ago, AustinBike said:

I will probably use it some of the time, but my daily ride goes around the lake, passing under pleasant valley into Guerrero park. Then over the Montopolis bridge.

Just found out that a new brewery opened up on Caesar Chavez, which might be nice for a mid-ride beer. Planning to check it out soon.

I do that loop several times a week also. I drop down that trail to Secret Beach and ride the trail along the river up to the dam. Pretty fun. The new brewery is called Central Machine Works. We stopped in last weekend on our round town beer ride. Place is Awe$ome!

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Crossing by fiesta gardens seemed more logical to me than designing around the swirling currents at the base of the dam, but I’ll definitely use it.

Two related things I liked:
1-The dingy tunnel under pleasant valley being made into a nice wide more inviting access to Guerrero park. I’m never sure I’m not going to end up with Andromeda’s Strain after riding thru that thing.
2-they’re building a crosswalk on the North side. I like to do a loop starting on the NWC Trail and cross the montopolis bridge on the way out and up pleasant valley to 5th on the way back. Crossing Pleasant Valley at the bridge is crazy. It would be awesome if they’d extend the north trail to shady lane but this helps.


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7 hours ago, Chongo Loco said:


1-The dingy tunnel under pleasant valley being made into a nice wide more inviting access to Guerrero park. I’m never sure I’m not going to end up with Andromeda’s Strain after riding thru that thing.
 

Yes!  That tunnel is especially dingy.  Last time I crossed on the road instead.  Plus now that someone said the tunnel under Brushy Creek Road off the BCRT had snakes, when I go from light to dark and can't see a thing, I'm always thinking I'm going to ride over a snake.

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Ditto on the  dingy tunnel creepiness factor. 

Tacos, because.....tacos.  If you cross over the dam and stay north on Pleasant Valley,  past Canterbury and Willow streets, there's a permanent taco trailer with two picnic tables out front (Tacos Guerrero) behind an insurance office on the left (west) side of N. Pleasant Valley, just before E. Cesar Chavez.  Good tacos (tasty corn tortillas) just a two block detour from Lady Bird Lake.  It's permanent enough to show up on googlemaps. 

And yes to continuing connectivity to Govalle Park on Bolm Road (the start of the Southern Walnut Creek Multi-Use Path).  The opening the old highway bridge to bikers/pedestrians is a step in the right direction. 

Edited by June Bug
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21 hours ago, Chongo Loco said:

Crossing by fiesta gardens seemed more logical to me than designing around the swirling currents at the base of the dam, but I’ll definitely use it.

Two related things I liked:
1-The dingy tunnel under pleasant valley being made into a nice wide more inviting access to Guerrero park. I’m never sure I’m not going to end up with Andromeda’s Strain after riding thru that thing.
2-they’re building a crosswalk on the North side. I like to do a loop starting on the NWC Trail and cross the montopolis bridge on the way out and up pleasant valley to 5th on the way back. Crossing Pleasant Valley at the bridge is crazy. It would be awesome if they’d extend the north trail to shady lane but this helps.


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1. Yeah, the tunnel is dingy but it beats having to ride around to the light to cross PV. I think the glass is half full, plus once I found a HUGE snapping turtle in the middle, must have been 20+ pounds.

2. There is a bike lane from Shady all the way downtown, so a Northside trail on the lake is less important. I'd like to see it, but there are bigger fish to fry in my mind.

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On 12/11/2019 at 7:31 AM, The Tip said:

 

$12 million. Geez. That would pay the salary for 200 policeman for a year. Or..fill in the blank with your more utilitarian use of $12 million.

Cities are always trying to build cool things to make their city more like Disneyland. But Disneyland costs $350 a day to "live" in!

this x 100

Make em a deal. As soon as the COA actually does something about the homeless epidemic, then i'm down with pedestrian bridges. Until then, the city leaders can go f@ck themselves.

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1 hour ago, ATXZJ said:

this x 100

Make em a deal. As soon as the COA actually does something about the homeless epidemic, then i'm down with pedestrian bridges. Until then, the city leaders can go f@ck themselves.

Where do you think homeless people sleep? Under bridges. Duh. 

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You could not have missed this turtle, unlike a snake. I could see it before I even entered the tunnel. Rode with both feet well up in the air.


Only thing a snapping turtle concerns me about is hitting it and going down in that festering stew. Not like they want to reach out and bite you. A moccasin would be a much greater concern, but that tunnel is a long way from where they typically like to hide. too much traffic and long section of open ground on both ends. Brushy tunnel is close to cover where mice/lizards hang on both sides, but the lighting is much better. Now that sunken grate in the middle I’ve forgotten about in the dark when my eyes didn’t adjust and nailed while on my road bike. Got a little squirrelly ONCE now I wheelie it every time.


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