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Mesa Drive (Spicewood Springs Road to Far West Boulevard)

Mesa Drive (Spicewood Springs Road to Far West Boulevard)

Project Overview

Mesa Drive Safety Improvements
(Spicewood Springs Road to Far West Boulevard)

Status: Active construction

Following further review of project data and community feedback, the City of Austin has updated the final design for Mesa Drive between Spicewood Springs Road and Far West Boulevard.

Residents should expect roadwork on Mesa Drive between Spicewood Springs Road and Far West Boulevard, including at the Spicewood Springs Road and Mesa Drive intersection, throughout September and October. The schedule is subject to change, and temporary traffic impacts should be expected during this period.

Updated Final Design

The design includes:

  • One travel lane in each direction
  • Bike lanes with painted buffers on each side of the street
  • Four new pedestrian crossing islands
  • Asphalt speed cushions to replace the existing rubber speed cushions
  • Safety improvements at the intersection of Spicewood Springs Road and Mesa Drive
  • On-street parking only on the east side of Mesa Drive, separated from the bike lane

Project map and cross-section

Graphic map showing Mesa Drive with orange line showing bike lanes, red line for parking and blue dots indicating location of four pedestrian crossings.

LEGEND

Pedestrian Crossing Island
Buffered One-Way Bike Lanes
 
On-street parking on the east side of the street

Street cross-section showing one travel lane in each direction, a buffered bike lane on each side, and a parking lane on the east side.

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 and bike lanes

The updated final design consolidates on-street parking on the east side of Mesa Drive, separated from the bike lane. This complies with the City Transportation Criteria Manual, which designates separate spaces for parking and biking.

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 to 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 four.  

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. 

Did you know?

Approximately 250-475 pedestrians and 150-250 cyclists use this section of Mesa Drive every day.

Contact Us

If you have questions about this project, please contact us by phone or email.

Phone: 512-974-2300

 

Email: 

MobilityBonds@AustinTexas.gov