Transit-only lanes getting red paint job in downtown Austin

Some of Austin’s downtown streets are getting a new look this week.

Starting as early Sunday, the city’s Transportation Department will lay red paint on the transit-only lanes that run down Guadalupe and Lavaca streets.

The bright color is meant to deter drivers from using the lanes, which are dedicated for buses only, unless someone is making a right turn at an intersection.

The painting project is a collaboration between the Transportation Department and Capital Metro, whose buses rely on the transit-only lanes.

“Establishing red lanes increases clarity of use for all road users, and Capital Metro reports improved on-time performance for transit riders,” Transportation Director Robert Spillar said.

The city said the painting is expected to take up to two months to complete and that bus lanes will close one block at a time to allow room for crews to work.

The red color will run along the transit-only lanes on Guadalupe Street between Third and 17th Streets and on Lavaca Street from Third to 15th streets.

The new color will not change the way the lanes are used; they will still be dedicated for buses only, unless drivers are making right-hand turns.

In total, the project is expected to cost $500,000, which is being paid for by Cap Metro.

The new red lanes will not be the first in Austin.

Last summer, the city and Cap Metro added red paint to the transit-only lanes on Lavaca Street between 15th Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, as part of an overall improvement to that stretch of road, which included re-routing buses onto Guadalupe Street before MLK to speed up service in the congested corridor.