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You make a good point. I wonder if the effect of an elevated bikeway would be as undesirable as a roadway. One guess is that an elevated bikeway would require significantly less space both because of the width of bike lanes vs. cars and the need to bear the weight of semi-trucks. Surely the underbelly of a bikeway could be significantly less sketchy?

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I think an elevated bikeway would definitely be less terrible than an elevated train or six-lane freeway. It'd be both narrower and quieter. It would still be kind of unfortunate for those under it though, especially if they wanted to proceed with the "urban elevated parkway"-type concept (which granted is pretty cool for the people above).

That said, from the sound of the traffic problems in the article, I think Austin is going to need a lot more than just bike lanes. It's expensive, but they might need to bite the bullet and build a proper subway.

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