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Project Green BLOG |
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October 2009
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With high gas prices and a world moving towards green, this isn't exactly how we want our city to be known. Especially in light of the fact that we're already known for being an "Obese" city. I emailed this to the mayor and city council members, but based on their track record on the subject, I don't have high hopes. I ride and run when I travel wherever I go, and I can tell you that Dallas is truly like no other city for either activity... in a bad way. Even if our so-called "velo-way" does get completed one day, we'll still be light years behind the rest of the nation. Perhaps if our city knew how poor our riding conditions really are we might muster some civic pride and take action. I'm encouraged by sightings of smart cars, hybrids, The Current Energy Store and a renewed interest in alternative sources of energy -- all we need now is the return of the timeless classic bicycle. It's the greenest vehicle on Worst Cities For Cycling Dallas boasts a vibrant cycling community, but riding in and around the city requires nerves of steel. Fast, multilane highways choked with traffic dominate the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metroplex, which some suspect might soon even sprawl over the Oklahoma border. "Because we're an oil state, people think we should drive," says Eric Jackson, president of Bike DFW, a cycling-advocacy group. He isn't exaggerating: The Texas House of Representatives nixed a bill last summer that would have required motorists to give bicyclists at least 3 feet of space when passing. While the city does have an ambitious cycling plan called Velo Web, which would create a 300-plus mile Best Regards, 6 Comments I could not agree more. As an avid cyclist, I would not dare to ride in many parts of the city because of the lack of safety. We need to do something about this! As a long-time fan of Rodale Publications (beginning when I researched garden-tillers and composting bins back in 1968 as a teenager), I was dismayed to see my city listed as one of the worst cities for cyclists in the US. The author (Christine Mattheis) obviously never visited the city, checked her sources, or did much research beyond Googling, and yet she draws ill-informed and incorrect conclusions. http://www.bicycling.com/article/0,6610,s-1-18-17082-1,00.html The following is the concept that drives Dallas' bike plan: "Cyclists fare best when they act as, and are treated as, the drivers of other vehicles." -- John Forester, P.E. The City of Dallas maintains an 800 lane-mile signed Bicycle Route System of cyclist selected, on-street, shared-lane system utilizing low volume local streets and roads, and has maintained this system since 1985. In addition to working with hundreds of local cyclists and bicycle clubs (including The Greater Dallas Bicyclists), the system was developed following the principles developed by Mr. John Forester, P.E., as laid out in "Bicycle Transportation" (MIT Press). Utilizing the Effective Cycling concept he developed for the League of American Cyclists, the Dallas Bike Plan creates a network of bicycle routes covering the entire city, with a grid system crossing a one-mile intervals. Additionally, the City has 100 miles of existing Grade 1 & 2 paved park trails, and plans for 100 more miles of Grade 1 trails (12' minimum width, paved for all-weather use), of which funding has been secured for approximately 50 miles. The City of Dallas does not employ bike lanes, as they are a bicycle traffic control device, and have never been shown to increase either cycling or cycling safety. They are most effective in university towns where there is a high concentration of Class C (inexperienced) cyclists centered around a central point (i.e., a campus). While bike lanes remain a "panacea" for many cycling advocates, their actual effectiveness in encouraging cycling and promoting safety in anything other than ideal circumstances remains highly dubious. Retrofitting such designs is cost prohibitive, as the needed right of way must either come from sidewalks, private landowners, or by reducing the width of vehicle travel lanes to below the already sub-standard 11 feet width of the lanes on the vast majority of our urban thoroughfares. The greatest danger to cyclists is not being struck from behind by a passing motorist (as many cyclists and non-cyclists believe), but rather the primary danger to cyclists involve intersections and the turning movements of other vehicles. While the protection from being struck from the rear afforded by a paint stripe is debatable, the increased danger of alleys, curb-cuts, driveways and intersections caused by bike lanes is well documented. Ms. Christine Mattheis mistakenly (and lazily, I might ad) confuses the old 300 mile Veloweb plan instituted by the North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG) for a non-existent bike lane plan for the City of Dallas. The NCTCOG Veloweb currently calls for 644 miles of 12' wide, road-separated multi-purpose trails covering a four county region. http://www.nctcog.org/trans/sustdev/bikeped/Mobility2030_Exh15-15_1_10_30_07.pdf http://www.nctcog.org/trans/sustdev/bikeped/veloweb.asp Much of her criticism probably referred to the region as a whole (in spite of her continually referring to "the City"), without recognizing that the DFW Metroplex currently has the lowest population density of any metropolitan statistical area in the nation. In the suburban sprawl of the Dallas-Fort Worth area, the lack of bicycle facilities is hardly to be unexpected. Bicycle transportation is a desired by-product of high-density population centers. The urban core of Dallas has bicycle/pedestrian trip share rates as high as 12%, while the same rate in the suburban communities is closer to 1%. I invite Ms. Mattheis to visit Dallas sometime (not the suburban sprawl, but the City) and see for herself, or to request a copy of our Bike Plan. Again, as a long time admirer of Rodale, I expect a higher level of journalism from your publications than this "drive-by" article represents. After relocating to Dallas from Eugene Oregon I am at a loss for all the people here trapped up "The City of Dallas maintains an 800 lane-mile signed Bicycle Route System of cyclist selected, on-street, shared-lane system utilizing low volume local streets and roads, and has maintained this system since 1985." Um, yeah, and it apparently works real well since I've lived here for 45 years, ride my bike regularly, and this is the FIRST time I've ever heard of this mythical system. What, pray-tell, do the signs look like, exactly? I've NEVER noticed one. Not once. Not on my bike. Not in my car. What a crock. We NEED bike lanes. I won't ride on the streets anymore. Too nerve-wracking having cars ride your tail, honk at you, flip you off, cut a foot in front of you, and in one case, "punish" me by slamming on his brakes after he passed me. Yes Virginia, there are bike routes in Dallas, though they unfortunately are kept too quiet. Here are the maps: http://www.dallascityhall.com/pwt/bike_links.html The signs are blue with white letters. They're pretty low-key, but they are there. I'm a casual rider/ commuter, not what you'd call a spandex warrior. I wear a helmet, and lots of blinkies at night. I won't ride on major thoroughfares unless I'm in a big group. I study the maps before I go anywhere, and I take the neighborhood streets and alleyways that parallel the major streets. Works fine for me. I didn't realize bike lanes were an issue here. I'll still ride whether they paint the lines or not, because I love it. "The City of Dallas maintains an 800 lane-mile signed Bicycle Route System of cyclist selected, on-street, shared-lane system utilizing low volume local streets and roads, and has maintained this system since 1985." Has anybody but noticed how outdated this so-called route system is? Since 1985 the traffic volume has more than tripled in Dallas. Entire businesses and chains have opened and closed. Looking at this bike route map today, it would appear that the drafters of that map were drinking on the job when dreaming that up. Is that a map of roads to avoid? We need better biking thoroughfares and biking lanes. 3 CommentsLeave a comment |
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I will never say that it is totally safe in Dallas, but I have been riding in Las Colinas / Airport / Coppell area for 25 years. After 6:30 pm on weekdays and all weekend you can ride safely. I have several 20 to 50 mile routes out there and on the weekends you don't even have to stop. In fact if you go before 8 AM you hardly see any cars. Last Sat. I did 40 miles in Las Colinas and there was no traffic at all, including bike riders. Dallas will never have workable (safe) bike lanes. So just go find some safe places to ride, they are out there. In fact I even have a loop you can ride at night and be totally safe (look out for racoons however).
Dallas covers such a large are. It's hard to generalize. There is a pretty well developed bicycling culture in the neighborhoods surrounding White Rock Lake and the Bike Friendly Oak Cliff organization is promoting spandex-free cycling in that neck of the woods, and folks there are also trying to lure back the trolley for multi-modal access into downtown. I sometimes commute from far East Dallas to work in the downtown core, and it's very pleasant. You just have to choose your routes wisely. Folks like to generalize about Dallas based on the suburban attitudes, but the City proper is more progressive than is generally known.
All the best,
Mark
The Bike Routes were, ignorantly, established for pleasure cruising around your neighborhood, not for transportation or even fitness rides. I remember when they first implemented the system and put up all the cute little Pegasus signs.
The philosophical theme behind the system was avoidance of vehicular traffic, or better put, keeping "those" bikes out of the way of "our" cars because gas was 99 cents a gallon and there were only a few weirdos who just wanted to ride bikes for fun anyway.
As a committed cyclist-commuter, this is not good enough. I have ignored the bike routes since 1985.
For several years now, I have been splitting time between Dallas, Boston and Asheville, NC, and I find Dallas to be, by far, the easiest of the three to cycle in, summer heat aside. The combo of bike, bus and train makes getting around the sprawl of Dallas pretty feasible.
We mainly need more of our fellow citizens to park the car and pedal their ass on the street. Statistics show that the more cyclists on the street the safer it is for the cyclist on the street.
Check out one world, two wheels at:
http://www.1world2wheels.org/