Getting Around

Getting Around

Although the highways are clearly marked, many of them have been granted other names as they pass through Austin (some joke that every road has at least two names). Keep in mind that U.S. 183 runs parallel to Research Boulevard for one stretch, Anderson Lane at another, and Ed Bluestein Boulevard at yet another, and Highway 71 is also known as Ben White Boulevard. Congress Avenue serves as the major north-south thoroughfare in the downtown area; it is interrupted at the State Capitol, Austin's heart and soul.

The rest of downtown is laid out in a conventional grid of numerical streets. The majority of these are one-way streets: even-numbered streets generally run one way to the west, and odd-numbered streets generally run one way to the east.

With 19 million annual visitors, more than 50,000 university students, and a large commuter population, Austin meets the demand with having more roads per capita than the other major cities in Texas—and it needs all of them. In fact, even with new highways and toll roads added in recent years, Austin's population growth has brought congestion, and it seems that every year rush hour gets longer, running weekdays from 7 to 9:30 AM and 4 to 7 PM, with Friday afternoon's rush starting a bit earlier. Driving can be irksome during rush hours, but Austin is generally navigable and car-friendly.