This is a great idea. When people are nervous that they will drift from their lane, they are going to pay greater attention. People generally don’t want the hassle of getting their car fixed. The extra space can then be used to add armadillos to the bike lanes or dedicated bus lanes for improved mode capabilities.

Road calming measures can really go a long way to reducing accidents, vehicle to vehicle, vehicle to pedestrian or vehicle with road obstruction. The only downside is going 5-10 mph slower. But on a per-person trip average that might be 2-5 minutes of time. Barely anything for the upsides listed above.

Engagement with the local artists like this is desperately needed. I personally know talented people who had to leave Austin’s art scene due to rising housing costs, and I suspect live music is suffering as well. According to them, the largest gathering of artists don’t happen in high cost of living cities. So in my opinion, if Austin wants to maintain the image of “the live musical capital of the world” it needs to step up for all artists.