A shiny new bicycle and pedestrian bridge opened across Barton Creek in June, right next to the MoPac expressway. I finally got a chance to check it out last Sunday morning.
Here’s a photo tour, starting from the north toward Zilker Park and moving south toward Sunset Valley. You can also check out my corresponding editorial on The Daily Texan.
The bridge has some really scenic views — that you wouldn’t see flying by at 70 or 25 mph on MoPac — but there’s no safe way across the frontage roads. That will be constructed as part of a different trail project. For now, you can’t actually reach the Southwest Parkway, despite media reports.
That makes the new bridge useless to the vast majority of potential cyclists who wouldn’t put up with that intimidating last mile. As nice as it is to ride (but would it kill them to put in some shade?), it’s looking a lot like Sarah Palin’s infamous “bridge to nowhere.”