Posted: Thu, 17 Feb 2011 03:31 PM - 12,703 Readers

By: KVUE News

Cyclists in Austin will soon have more room on the road.

Thursday the city council approved a plan to create bike-only lanes along Lake Austin Boulevard at Lyons golf course.

Cyclists say the lanes will tie together pre-existing lanes in West Austin. They say they should also make the road safer for cars and bikes alike.

Cyclist Craig Staley said the current path is riddled with pebbles and potholes.

"It's pretty sketchy if you're headed east into town; you're in a pretty narrow lane, about a foot-and-a-half to two feet in some places, so you have cars whizzing by you," said Mellow Johnny's general manager Craig Staley.  "Then on the other side, if you're headed out of town, there's almost no lane in some places. There'll be cars parked there on the side. It's real gravely, so you end up having to pop out into the traffic lane in some places."

The lanes come at a cost of more than $800,000. Federal tax funds will pay for them.