Join BikeDFW and Head To Austin For Cyclists In Suits
From the BikeDFW blog:
Every two years in Texas, we get a unique opportunity to talk about cycling with people who can make a difference.
Save the date, take the day off and take a road trip with a bunch of friends to Austin to participate in your democracy. You’ll meet the people that represent you and, most importantly, let them know that you think more effort to accommodate bicycling is important for the future of your community and your state.
It cannot be stressed enough that numbers matter; we need representation from every congressional district in North Texas.
Don’t worry about jumping off the bus and not knowing what to do. Bike Texas will provide a thorough briefing on hot topics as well as tips and techniques for meeting and communicating with your legislators. They will also organize groups according to their legislative districts. It’s also OK if you just want to be a smiling face with a bicycling pin! Your interest and presence speaks volumes to your representatives.
BikeDFW has made arrangements for one-day, round-trip chartered bus trips from both Dallas and Fort Worth to Austin to participate in Cyclists in Suits for the very reasonable cost of $30 per person. The buses are luxury coaches and we will serve breakfast and coffee on board.
Dress: The name says it all, formal office attire makes the best impression and helps to break down the lycra stereotype, allowing for more effective communication. You can wear more casual clothes on the bus and change upon arrival, that is up to you.
Dallas area departure location: Richardson Bike Mart (SE corner, Coit and Campbell, Richardson)
Fort Worth area departure location: Trinity Bicycles (343 Throckmorton, Fort Worth)
Departure Time from both locations: 5:00am
Estimated return to both locations: 9:00pm
Purchase your ticket for Fort Worth or Dallas departure at the bottom of this page.
Schedule in Austin:
The agenda per Bike Texas is as follows (more details on the Bike Texas site:https://www.biketexas.org/news/biketexasevents):
8:30am – Beginning Brief (Capitol Extension, Room E1.004)
Get briefed on the important issues and learn best practices for meeting with legislators.
9:30am – Meet your Legislators (through mid-afternoon)
Visit legislative offices and meet with legislators and their staff about the Complete Streets Bill and other bills of concern to Texas cyclists. In the course of the day, we will see the House or the Senate in session. We’ll take a group photo with the capitol as our backdrop.
Lunch – Capital Grill (expect about $10 per person)
4:00 pm — Happy Hour (Bike Texas HQ at 1902 E 6th St.)
Depart Austin: approximately 5:30 pm
Richardson City Council Awards Bid for Central Trail Construction
From the City of Richardson weekly newsletter:
The City Council on Monday awarded a bid of $3.4 million to Ed Bell Construction Company to extend the Central Trail 1.9 miles from the Arapaho Road DART Station to the southern city limit. Construction of the 10-foot wide concrete multiuse trail is expected to begin in April and last for about one year.
The $4 million project is funded through Dallas County and the City of Richardson’s 2010 Bond Program. The lowest bid to construct the trail came in about $400,000 over budget, so the City removed some amenities such as irrigation systems, landscaping, and benches to be constructed in a possible second phase at a future date. The City also hopes to use $600,000 in Regional Tollway Revenue funds awarded for the Central Trail to help enhance the project.
The Central Trail currently runs from the Spring Creek Trail in north Richardson and ends at the Arapaho Road DART Station. The extension will run alongside the DART rail line and is planned to eventually connect with the Richardson city limit to the south and a future connection to the Dallas’ White Rock Creek Trail.
Watch the City Council presentation at http://bit.ly/V6oiYQ.
We are extremely excited that this is happening and we’d still like to see the small gap in the plan addressed.
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The Signs Of Our Times
We just wanted to share some of the signs that you might have been seeing along the road in Richardson. Starting several months back, the City of Richardson has been adding these to a number of locations around town, many of them appear right where you enter the city.
We think these are a nice little welcome into our city, a good way to make motorists bike-aware, and a great way to articulate that we are a bike friendly community.
We feel that these are a nice additions to the cycling infrastructure and a good compliment to our trails and bike lanes.
They’re pretty self-explanitory, but here is the City of Richardson‘s description of each:
In addition to bicycle lanes, the City is installing “Share the Road” signs on Renner Road where hundreds of cyclists ride many evenings and weekends despite the higher vehicle speeds and volumes. On some collector roadways and residential streets we simply provide a Bike Route sign without a dedicated lane. Below are examples of these different signs and characteristics associated with each facility type.
Share the Road – This sign is posted on routes where vehicular traffic may encounter larger volumes of cyclists even though it is not a dedicated bike route or bike lane. Cyclists are legally permitted on these roadways so these signs are to make motorists aware of the presence of bicycles and to remind them to give the same rights to the bicycles as they would to motorized vehicles (cars, trucks, etc.)
Bike Route – This sign is posted along roadways in the city that have lower traffic volumes than “share the road” streets, and will help cyclists connect from bike lane to bike lane or between an off-street trail and an on-street bike lane. These routes may carry higher volumes than streets with designated bike lanes, but most of these routes are located on collectors or residential streets versus arterials.
Bike Lane – This sign is located along roadways that have a dedicated bike lane. There are currently six bike lanes located in Richardson and more are proposed as future funding is available. This bike lane sign will also be accompanied by white pavement markings of the cyclist symbol and a solid white stripe separating motorized traffic from the bicycles.
For some reason the city didn’t put up a description for the Bike May Use Full Lane signs. To us, those are just as important, if not more informative than the others. You’d be surprised to know that many motorists AND cyclists don’t realize that this is the law.
I’d love to have a set for my garage or office. 😉
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Jason Roberts mentions BFR
By bergerandfries
The upside is the amount of traction he’s gotten in local politics. He’s also running for US Congress (I’d vote for him). The downside is that the “just go do it, legal or illegal” is creating a backlash, of course, targeted at cyclists, the easiest and most visible folks to lash out at. Someone is now painting shared lane markings on Dallas streets, and angering Dallas City Staff and now Council too. So you are left with a Dallas Mayor that is a bicyclist, with a council and staff that are telling him it is a no go on bike infrastructure. I’ll keep riding in Dallas, don’t worry, but I don’t expect much company to join me soon…
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Help Plano See the Light
By bergerandfries
All, Plano is looking at putting in a traffic signal at Preston Road and Commonsgate where Bluebonnet Trail could cross Preston. In order to do that, they have to do a traffic signal warrant study. Both vehicular traffic on Preston and bike/ped traffic on Bluebonnet at Preston will be counted. A signal can be warranted based on the volume of vehicular traffic (which we easily have), and/or volume bike/ped traffic. Get the picture?
When?
Wed 10/31 from 1 pm to 7 pm
Thurs 11/1 from 7 am to 1 pm
What?
You need to travel West/East on Bluebonnet and turn around in the gas station parking lot (RaceTrac or QT) and head back East/West during the above windows of time.
I will leave 2400 Glenville Drive at 4:00pm on 10/31 to go to this intersection, and will ride from this intersection back to 2400 Glenville Drive starting at 7:30am on 11/1 if anyone wants to join me!!!
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5 Bike Repair Stations Across UT Dallas Campus
Thea Junt, Energy Conservation & Sustainability Manager for UT Dallas Facilities Management, contacted us with some fantastic news about the UT Dallas campus, located in Richardson.
They just installed 5 Bike Repair stations across campus! According to Thea, the stations are for anyone who needs them – even if you aren’t a student. They are fixed units with a number of tools attached to them. There is also a QR code on them that links to videos/instructions showing how to make basic repairs.
Apparently biking is a big deal for UT Dallas. They also have over 1500 bike parking spaces (150+ bike racks).
And that’s not all. Thea also let us know that they now have a second bus route running through campus. All of their buses are bike-friendly, and Richardson Bike Mart is on the route. For UT bus routes, no DART pass or fare is required – just hop on the 883 or 884 to get around.
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New Bike Lanes On Canyon Creek Drive
The City of Richardson does it again. We now have some new bike lanes on Canyon Creek Drive, along with some newly repainted bike lanes on Yale Boulevard. As usual, we are grateful that the city has been doing this for cyclists. These are also great for calming traffic through these neighborhoods as well.
Here are some pics:
Most of the route is painted with a nice buffer between bikes and traffic, yet wide enough to keep riders out of the gutter.
Unfortunately, because these go through residential streets, accommodations were made to give homeowners space to park in front of their houses. This will put cyclists in the ‘door zone’. Please, proceed with caution in these lanes and always know that you are allowed to leave the bike lane if you choose. Travel in the bike lane is not required – just a benefit.
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New Bike Route Signs On Collins
I noticed these last night and thought I would share. The new signs – that I’ve seen so far – are placed on Plano Road (approaching Collins) and on Collins, between Plano Road and the Central overpass.
I wonder if these are place holders until they get money to finish out the painted bike lanes on Collins.
View From Plano Road Facing South (to Collins intersection)
View of Collins - Westbound
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Way To Go, Plano!
I saw this NBC video on Facebook, talking about the city’s new bicycle signs. Click below to see the news report.
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City of Richardson Receives “Safe Routes to School” Funding Grant
Again, if you get the City’s newsletter, you’ve probably already seen this:
The City of Richardson has been awarded federal funding through a Safe Routes to School grant from the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) for two schools in Richardson: Richland Elementary and Yale Elementary.
At Monday’s work session, the City Council was briefed by staff on the City’s efforts to acquire this funding, the status of the programmed projects and the improvements that will be made around the schools.
The work that will be funded by the grant includes installation of barrier-free ramps, sidewalks, bike routes, bike lanes and bike racks.
The City Council will consider a resolution to approve funding agreements with TxDOT at a future meeting. Click here to view the work session presentation.
This is fantastic news for families with kids going to these schools. This is especially good news to me, since one of these schools is in my neighborhood. We’re grateful that the City kept up with this, even after not getting selected the first time.
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Bike Friendly Richardson 
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