AUSTIN (KXAN) — At the City of Austin’s Bicycle Advisory Board meeting in October, members asked for an in-depth look at the city’s bike lane cleaning program. It is operated by Austin Resource Recovery (ARR), the city department responsible for waste and recycling collection and street cleaning.
The city of Austin said it has removed more than 5,000 tons of debris from roads so far this year as part of its street cleaning programs.
ARR is funded by the Clean Community Fee that Austin residents pay through their utility bill.
ARR Assistant Director Amy Slagle said street sweeping crews have swept more than 78,000 miles so far this year, including more than 4,000 miles of bike lanes.
“Anywhere that’s going to be a higher level of traffic, you’re going to see more litter, so you could probably pinpoint an area in every area of Austin,” Slagle said when asked where her team sees the most debris.
Austin cyclists tell KXAN they sometimes see dirt, debris or even glass on bike lanes throughout the city.
As the city has grown, the need to provide a safe and attractive environment for pedestrians and bikers has increased, Slagle said.
“It’s something the administration is focused on, making sure our community is clean,” Slagle said.
ARR has three comprehensive programs: residential, streets, and protected bike lanes.
Crews work with COA council districts to clean roads along residential streets up to six times each year.
Major city streets like Burnet Road and Lamar Boulevard are bulldozed twice a month, overnight.
Protected bike lanes created along boulevards and neighborhood streets are cleaned twice a month. ARR reports that there are currently 108.8 miles of one-way protected bike lanes and 29.7 miles of two-way protected bike lanes across Austin.
The city expects to add 17 miles of protected bike lanes next year.