Pleasant Valley Bridge

The unusual design wasn't initially on the drawing board. But once a dozen Austinites suggested it, the three-pronged option beat out the alternatives.

Once complete, the bridge will connect the city's most popular trail at a long-overlooked corner of the lake. A nearby pedestrian tunnel under Pleasant Valley Road is already tunneled through.

There are enjoyable ways to walk or bike across Lady Bird Lake, but the Pleasant Valley Bridge is not one of them. A narrow sidewalk, a chain-link fence…