Project map and cross-section

LEGEND

Pedestrian Crossing Island

Buffered One-Way Bike Lanes

 

 

Cross-section showing new street layout

Why Mesa Drive is being updated

Mesa Drive was resurfaced in July and August 2026. During resurfacing, existing pavement markings are removed and replaced with new markings that meet current City safety and engineering standards. Because this section of Mesa Drive was last resurfaced about 20 years ago, the City's standards have changed, requiring updates to the street design. Resurfacing also provides an opportunity to implement additional changes that can improve long-term safety and mobility needs. These additional changes are moving forward based on what we observed in the data and heard from the community.

Required updates to meet current City standards

Reducing the width of travel lanes

The travel lanes will be reduced from the current width of 16 feet to 11 to 12 feet to comply with City Transportation Criteria Manual requirements. 

Separating parking from the bike lanes 

The final design removes on-street parking on both sides of Mesa Drive to comply with the City Transportation Criteria Manual, which designates separate spaces for parking and biking.

During Phase 1 of community engagement, the City presented a design with on-street parking and a separated bike lane on the east side of Mesa Drive. Survey results showed limited support for that option, and many community members said they preferred a simpler street layout.

Parking studies also found that on-street parking was rarely used, with typically zero to one parked vehicles in the project area.

Based on community feedback, parking data, and City standards, the final design removes on-street parking while maintaining a simple street layout that closely reflects existing conditions and improves safety for people walking, biking, and driving.

Additional changes to improve long-term safety and mobility

Pedestrian Crossings

In Phase 2, twice as many survey participants supported the proposed pedestrian crossings as opposed them. However, we received approximately 70 comments saying that there were too many crossings. Based on that feedback, the number of new pedestrian crossings in the final design was reduced from eight to three.  

Bicycle Lane Protection

The use of vertical bike-lane protection, such as flexible posts, has been reduced based on feedback from both phases of community engagement. These devices will only be installed at speed cushions and pedestrian crossings where they will support the street design and enhance safety.

Safety Data

Data collected through the City's transportation and safety programs help identify safety concerns and inform street design improvements. The information below summarizes key findings for Mesa Drive.

Speeding

Each year, the City's Speed Management program reviews hundreds of streets to identify locations with higher speeding and crash risk. In 2025, Mesa Drive from Spicewood Springs Road to Far West Boulevard ranked 12th out of 878 streets evaluated citywide. This ranking is based on measured speeds, traffic volumes and crash history. Additional data collected in 2026 showed that about 50% of drivers on Mesa Drive were driving above the speed limit.

Crash Data

Data from the Vision Zero program shows that more than 125 crashes occurred on this segment of Mesa Drive between 2016 and 2025.

How community feedback influenced the design

The final design incorporates feedback gathered during two phases of community engagement conducted in spring and summer 2026.

Phase 1

The first phase of engagement focused on understanding current conditions and identifying community priorities. Sixty-four percent of survey respondents had at least one concern about the street, while 20–25% reported no concerns. The primary issue identified was excessive speeding, which nearly 40% of respondents listed as their top concern.

Phase 2

In the second phase, we asked community members to provide feedback on a proposed design developed using engineering analysis, City standards and community input from Phase 1. Overall support for the proposed design was low: 31% supported it, while 65% did not. However, participants' feedback was valuable in identifying specific aspects of the proposal that residents supported and highlighting where changes were needed.  

Review the Phase 1 and Phase 2 feedback summaries to learn more. 

What other factors inform street design changes?

Roadway designs are developed by balancing several factors, including:

• Federal, state and local regulations 
• Current engineering and safety standards
• Crash history, traffic volumes and speed data 
• Long-term maintenance considerations 
• Community input

Staff evaluate these factors together to develop improvements that enhance safety while maintaining operations.