Austin COVID-19 Update: ‘Healthy Streets’ Closures Get Started

As cities start to reopen, plenty of moving pieces are in play to keep residents and workers safe during the pandemic. COVID-19 brought a wave of event cancellations along with shuttered doors and halted operations for businesses nationwide as the country took a hard-economic hit. Companies are now taking fresh steps to protect both their customers and their business.

One city that is planning to follow suit of others is Austin as it has chosen to begin a “Healthy Streets” initiative. Austin isn’t the first to do this. The Healthy Streets program is like others across the country including cities like Oakland and Seattle. Local parks and popular outdoor recreations have been flooded will people looking to get a break from quarantine as the gyms and other venues were closed to the public.

The first group of “Healthy Streets” to be closed to vehicular traffic took place on Thursday last week as part of the new initiative put in place by the city of Austin.

Streets in the initiative’s first batch include Bouldin Avenue, South Third Street and Garden Villa from Bannister Lane to Barton Springs Road; Comal Street from Lady Bird Lake to Manor Road; and the Country Club Creek Trail Extension, which takes in part of the trail itself plus sections of Wickersham Lane, Ventura Drive and Madera Drive from Mabel Davis Park to Lakeshore Drive.

All three closure areas link to, or sit within a few blocks of, neighborhoods in South Central East and Southeast Austin and the Ann and Roy Butler Hike and Bike Trail. The closures give people who exercise outdoors more room and offer a safer route for those commuting downtown.

Signs, cones or barricades will block streets to discourage vehicle traffic, with exceptions for area residents, emergency vehicles and deliveries, said Austin transportation director Robert Spillar in a memo to the mayor.

“The first batch of Healthy Streets will be closely monitored to ensure they are operating safely and meeting the needs of the community,” Spillar wrote.

Austin parks stayed open throughout the pandemic except for some amenities, a response to overcrowding. The Trail Foundation urged people to stop using the Butler Hike and Bike Trail very early in the pandemic, noting that the trail was overcrowded and not complying with social distancing guidelines.

The initiative came from Austin City Council member Paige Ellis and won unanimous approval. She said Austin residents can request that their own streets be added to the Healthy Streets program.