At our December 4th General Membership Meeting, staff from the Austin Transportation Department presented plans for the proposed traffic calming measures (now known as Local Area Traffic Management or LATM) on St. Edwards Drive between IH35 and Carnarvon Lane.
Anna Martin, P.E. and Mario Porras, E.I.T. discussed the history of the request for traffic calming, the speed studies that were performed and the results of the studies that indicated the need for traffic calming.
Next, staff discussed the evolution of the City’s LATM program. The most effective approach to reducing speed, according to staff, is installation of rubber speed cushions. The rubber cushions replace the asphalt humps and are also more effective than signs, road striping and chicanes/concrete curb “bulb-outs”.
The proposed plan in Area 5 consists of 3 sets of speed cushions from IH-35 to Eastside Drive. From Eastside Drive to Carnarvon, the plan switches to “refuge islands”, which are intermittent medians in the middle of the road coupled with pedestrian crossing lanes/signs to both reduce traffic speed and provide safe crossing of St. Edwards Drive for pedestrians.
ATD staff requested input from SRCC and adjacent neighbors in order to meet a timeline for the initial phase of installation sometime in late January or February. The Mobility Committee is working with the Area 5 Coordinators and St. Eds coordinator to organize affected neighbors and provide feedback to City ATD staff.
