This week, it got a little easier to bike in downtown Austin. After 37 years, the Shoal Creek Trail Gap Project is finally open to the public.

 

 

After being destroyed by a flood in 1981, the stretch of the Shoal Creek Trail from 5th Street to West Avenue reopened on last week. Although the actual stretch of trail is quite short, it provides an important connection point.

 

Now the only piece of the downtown trail that is closed is a small section next to the Independent skyscraper. (A piece of the Shoal Creek Trail from Shoal Creek Boulevard to 24th Street is also currently closed due to a massive slope failure that recently damaged the trail. In the interim, trail users can get around it by using the Lamar Boulevard sidewalk as a detour). Once that project is complete, the Shoal Creek Trail will allow Austinites to walk or bike all the way from 38th Street to Lady Bird Lake and the Hike-And-Bike Trail.

And that’s not all. The Shoal Creek Conservancy is currently working on a plan to extend the trail all the way to the Domain in north Austin.

This of course, is a huge project that will take years to complete. In the interim, the Shoal Creek Conservancy plans on adding signage and wayfinding to trail (to make it easier to access and navigate), as well as building a protected, two-way bike line along Shoal Creek Boulevard from 38th Street to Foster Lane.

 

In addition to that, the Shoal Creek Conservancy has plans to transform the old railroad trestle at 3rd Street and West Avenue in downtown Austin into a pedestrian plaza (kind of like a mini High Line park).

 

Want to stay up-to-date on all the changes coming to Shoal Creek? You can check out the Shoal Creek Conservancy’s website here>>