Bike Parking At The Cottonwood Art Festival

Learn more about The Cottonwood Art Festival.

Durham Park – Open Soon (if not already)

Learn more about Durham Park.

Start of South Central DART Trail (from Arapaho)

Trail Construction – South Central DART Trail

Pearl Cup Richardson Has New Bike Racks

Find out more about the Pearl Cup.

Start Of The Wild Ride

Click here to see more pics and a recap from the WildRide! Against Cancer.

Richardson

Last Friday was National Bike To Work Day.  Based on last years success in Richardson, BikeDFW and Dallas Area Rapid Transit hosted 5 Bike Commuter Energizer Station in the Dallas area: Plano, Garland, Richardson, Downtown Dallas, and Oak Cliff. Joined by local cities of Plano, Garland and Dallas along with local bike groups, Bike Friendly Richardson, Bike Friendly Garland and Bike Friendly Oak Cliff, we were able to provide these support stations around town.

Dozens of bike commuters and hundreds of other transit commuters visited these stations that morning. Cyclists were able to eat some breakfast, grab some snacks and drink some coffee and water before heading into work. Local bike shops performed bicycle safety checks, while DART and local cities provided commuter information and swag.

This was a great success for DFW bike commuters and and cycling community. With the help of more sponsors and local volunteers,we hope to expand it to even more stations next year.

Special Thanks To Our Sponsors and Volunteers:
We plan on adding a complete list of volunteers and sponsors, as soon as we get all the information in. Until then, here are some key people:

SPONSORS:
KIND Healthy Snacks Arthuro Garza
Clif Bars Jeanine Romine
Neuro Energy Drinks Kasey Smith
Re-Geared Rachel Spire
Generator Coffee House JimD
Zang Triangle Apartments
Cycling Savvy DFW Waco Moore and Eliot Landrum

LOCAL BIKE SHOPS FOR SAFETY CHECKS:
Plano Cycling and Fitness (Plano)
Richardson Bike Mart (Richardson)
Don Johle’s Bike World (Garland)
Richardson Bike Mart (Downtown Dallas)
Oak Cliff Bicycle Company (Oak Cliff)

DART: EVENT CO-SPONSOR/ORGANIZER:
Dan Dickerson and his team of great volunteers from DART:
Chris Walters, Steve Biba, Shaun Tooley, Jennifer Jones, Charylene Crayton, Jennifer Hall (and more).

CITY CO-SPONSORS:
Ann McGinnes and her team (City of Garland), Renee Jordan (City of Plano), Max Kalhammer, Kevin Lefebvre, Kimberly Mackey (City of Dallas)

VOLUNTEERS:
Jonathan Braddick, and his team (names to come) (Oak Cliff), Michael McNair (Garland), Jared Cook (Garland), Robert Cherry (Garland), Joshua McNeely (Richardson)

BIKEDFW: EVENT CO-SPONSOR/ORGANIZER:
Marc Mumby (Akard), Richard Wezensky (Richardson/Garland), Jenny Rilling (Richardson), Anita Mills (Oak Cliff), Michael Freiberger (Plano), Warren Casteel (Multi-Location Support)

For a more detailed account of how these stations came together, click here.

Pics Of The Event (Richardson and Garland) See full set here:

Richardson

Richardson

Garland

Garland

Richardson

More Pics can be found here:
(coming)

Mark your calendars! Friday, May 17, 2013 is National Bike To Work Day. IF there is ever a day to ride to work, make it this day. Think about the positive statement we’ll be making as cyclists, safely using an alternate form of transportation throughout the DFW Metroplex.

Based on our great success in Richardson last year, BikeDFW and DART have partnered up to host 5 Bike Commuter Energizer Stations in:

GARLAND - Downtown Garland Station (Partnered with The City of Garland)
DALLAS - Akard Station (Partnered with the City of Dallas)
OAK CLIFF - Jefferson St. Viaduct (Partnered with Bike Friendly Oak Cliff)
RICHARDSON - Arapaho Station (Partnered with Bike Friendly Richardson)
PLANO - Intersection of Bluebonnet & Chisholm Trail (Partnered with The City of Plano)

DATE: Friday, May 17, 2013
TIME: 6:30-9:00 am

If you are in the area, please stop by. Also, let them know on Facebook.

MORE DETAILS TO COME.

EVENT SPONSORS:

KIND Healthy Snacks - on Facebook (All Stops)
Clif Bars - on Facebook  (All Stops)
Neuro Energy Drinks (Akard Stop)
Re-Geared - on Facebook (Akard Stop)
Generator Coffee House - on Facebook (Garland Stop)
Zang Triangle Apartments - on Facebook (Oak Cliff Stop)

Plano Cycling and Fitness - on Facebook (Plano Stop)
Richardson Bike Mart - on Facebook  (Richardson and Akard Stops)
Don Johle’s Bike World - on Facebook  (Garland Stop)
Oak Cliff Bicycle Company - on Facebook (Oak Cliff Stop)

ALSO: There will be other stations available:

Dallas Bike Works will have coffee and doughnuts and free minor repairs from 7:30 – 9:30am at White Rock Creek Trail where it passes under NW Highway (opposite the shop on Lawther). Facebook Event here.

The City of Fort Worth will have food and beverages and a bike share station set up at the Inter-modal Transit Center from 7:30 – 9am. There will be group rides to the Fort Worth event starting from various locations (map).

Unfortunately, because of scheduling conflicts, Bike Friendly Richardson won’t be hosting a “Cruise To The Cottonwood” ride this spring. That doesn’t mean you can’t ride there. In fact, we think bicycling the best way to get to the festival – especially on such a beautiful weekend.

Also, thanks to the folks at the City of Richardson, we were told that there will be plenty of bike parking at the entrance, close to Belt Line. While we’re on the topic of bike parking, there will also be parking set up at the Wildflower Festival in a couple of weeks.

So, kick off National Bike Month with a fantastic ride with your friends and family and enjoy the wonderful art of the Cottonwood Art Festival.

There is a city election coming up. Richardson residents must choose the office holders for City Council and, for the first time in many years, Mayor. The election will be held on May, 11 2013, but early voting will start as soon as April 29.

Most of the positions are unopposed, but the Mayoral position is up to the voters.

As an advocacy group, Bike Friendly Richardson does not have any official endorsement for any of the candidates. However, as cyclists, we were concerned about each candidate’s position on cycling issues. We sent each a questionnaire covering several bicycling topics, and many of them sent in their responses. We’ve posted those responses here so that Richardson cyclists can have a perspective of who they are voting for.

Don’t forget to vote.

CANDIDATES
Mayor
Laura Maczka
Amir Omar

City Council
Place 1: Bob Townsend
Place 2: Mark Solomon
Place 3: Scott Dunn
Place 4: Kendal Hartley
Place 5: Paul Voelker
Place 6: Steve Mitchell

What a nice surprise on my way home from work – I saw a small group of cyclists heading over to the Arapaho DART Station. They were taking the train into Dallas to be part of the Dallas Critical Mass. Read more about this at Suburban Assault.

1: Do you (and your family) ride a bicycle on Richardson roads or trails? For what purposes do you ride?

Mark Solomon: Our family does not cycle. Wish we had the time to do so.

2: The City of Richardson has supported quality of life facilities such as a park and trail system, recreation centers, swimming pools and bicycle lanes. These facilities make Richardson a more livable city where people want to live and businesses want to locate. What would you do to maintain and expand these qualities?

Mark Solomon: The City has been very aggressive in making its self attractive to a variety of recreational interest from bike lanes, trails, new recreation centers, updated water activities, the Corporate Challenge, etc. I strongly support the continuation of these programs and will always be open to new activities that will enhance the quality of life for our residential and corporate citizens.

3: Last year, Bike Friendly Richardson partnered with the City Transportation Department to submit a Bicycle Friendly Community application. The feedback that we received indicated that the City needed to improve in the following areas of bike-friendliness:

*Having an effective Bicycle Advisory Committee.

*Expanding the bicycle and pedestrian manager’s time focused on the 5 E’s (Engineering, Education, Encouragement, Enforcement, and     Evaluation & Planning) would help in scaling up your Bicycle Friendly Community efforts.

*Adopt a Complete Streets or Bicycle Accommodation policy and offer implementation guidance.

*Increase the amount of secure bicycle parking at popular destinations such as transit stops, schools, recreation and entertainment facilities, retail and office clusters and churches throughout the community.

*Expand encouragement efforts during National Bike Month in partnership with local bicycle advocacy groups. Have the Mayor / City Council proclaim May as Bike Month. Host, sponsor and/or encourage bicycle-themed community events such as community rides, a bicycle festival or a commuter challenge. Widely advertise all bicycle-themed community events.

What would you do to increase the chances of achieving a Bike Friendly Community designation during your term in office?

Mark Solomon: Transportation staff has begun developing an action plan to address shortcomings identified in the application specifically in the areas of having additional secure bicycle parking in popular destinations and increasing the amount of staff time and resources dedicated to initiatives such as increasing  visibility and access to trails, bicycles parking, etc.

4: Richardson has shown itself to be a progressive, forward-thinking city in terms of alternative transportation infrastructure, environmental conservation and restoration, and other quality of life criteria. Several cities in the US, including Boulder, CO; Kansas City, MO; and Fort Worth, TX; have implemented ordinances that require and/or incentivize the installation of bicycle parking as part of new commercial and multifamily construction or major renovation. Would you support the implementation of this type of ordinance in Richardson?

Mark Solomon: This is a very intriguing idea and one that does deserve further study by the staff. I did read and see information on the Fort Worth initiative and would like to see more information of their project.

5: Do you support the installation of more bicycle parking on City property, such as at parks, City Hall, the Courthouse, etc.? Do you support implementing temporary bike parking solutions at events like the Cottonwood Arts Festival, Wildflower Festival, Huffhines Art Trails, etc.?

Mark Solomon: Yes, the City is working to add additional bicycle parking to the Civic Center as well as other city facilities.  These will be added as funds become available and demand dictates. There is parking now at the Wildflower and other events and we welcome cyclist to these events.

6: Richardson has significant parts of a multi-use Trail Network in place. The City of Richardson Transportation and Park and Recreation Departments have plans to improve and extend the bicycle lane and trail network, including facilitating connections to our surrounding cities. Will you support continued implementation of the Richardson Bicycle Facilities Plan?

Mark Solomon: Yes, trails were the number one priority identified by citizens in the Parks and Recreation and Open Space Master Plan.  The City is committed to continuing to expand the trail network in Richardson.  This includes building a trail connection to the Bush Turnpike DART station and using both Federal and Dallas County funds to extend the Duck Creek trail.  City staff continues efforts to identify grants and outside funding to assist with efforts to expand the trail network.

7: Two years ago the State Legislature overwhelmingly passed a safe passing law for vulnerable road users, including bicyclists, pedestrians, construction workers, etc (see attached example). The Governor vetoed the bill. All of our neighboring states have safe-passing laws and several cities in Texas including Plano, Dallas, Fort Worth, Denton, San Antonio, Austin, New Braunfels, Edinburg, El Paso, Beaumont and Helotes have adopted safe passing ordinances. Would you support implementation of this type of ordinance for Richardson?

Mark Solomon: I am not personally familiar with these ordinances but I am willing to look at them and if they are needed then I would consider a review of their adoption.

1: Do you (and your family) ride a bicycle on Richardson roads or trails? For what purposes do you ride?

Kendal Hartley: l do not ride anymore.

2: The City of Richardson has supported quality of life facilities such as a park and trail system, recreation centers, swimming pools and bicycle lanes. These facilities make Richardson a more livable city where people want to live and businesses want to locate. What would you do to maintain and expand these qualities?

Kendal Hartley: The City is currently implementing the 2010 Bond Program and will be opening the Heights Recreation Center in May 2013 and the Heights Aquatic Center in July 2013.

The City anticipates starting discussions about the next bond program during the Summer and Fall of 2013. The date for the next bond election has not been determined.

3: Last year, Bike Friendly Richardson partnered with the City Transportation Department to submit a Bicycle Friendly Community application. The feedback that we received indicated that the City needed to improve in the following areas of bike-friendliness:

*Having an effective Bicycle Advisory Committee.

*Expanding the bicycle and pedestrian manager’s time focused on the 5 E’s (Engineering, Education, Encouragement, Enforcement, and     Evaluation & Planning) would help in scaling up your Bicycle Friendly Community efforts.

*Adopt a Complete Streets or Bicycle Accommodation policy and offer implementation guidance.

*Increase the amount of secure bicycle parking at popular destinations such as transit stops, schools, recreation and entertainment facilities, retail and office clusters and churches throughout the community.

*Expand encouragement efforts during National Bike Month in partnership with local bicycle advocacy groups. Have the Mayor / City Council proclaim May as Bike Month. Host, sponsor and/or encourage bicycle-themed community events such as community rides, a bicycle festival or a commuter challenge. Widely advertise all bicycle-themed community events.

What would you do to increase the chances of achieving a Bike Friendly Community designation during your term in office?

Kendal Hartley: Transportation staff has begun developing an action plan to address shortcomings identified in the application specifically in the areas of having additional secure bicycle parking in popular destinations and increasing the
amount of staff time and resources dedicated to initiatives such as increasing visibility and access to trails, bicycles parking, etc.

4: Richardson has shown itself to be a progressive, forward-thinking city in terms of alternative transportation infrastructure, environmental conservation and restoration, and other quality of life criteria. Several cities in the US, including Boulder, CO; Kansas City, MO; and Fort Worth, TX; have implemented ordinances that require and/or incentivize the installation of bicycle parking as part of new commercial and multifamily construction or major renovation. Would you support the implementation of this type of ordinance in Richardson?

Kendal Hartley: Would want to spend more time researching this type of ordinance before making a commitment.

Would  to see examples from other cities (Boulder, Kansas City, Fort Worth) and identify best practices including the advantages/disadvantages of requiring versus incentivizing.

Would like to gain input from the public and meeting with key stakeholders to hear their insights on this proposals before making a final decision.

5: Do you support the installation of more bicycle parking on City property, such as at parks, City Hall, the Courthouse, etc.? Do you support implementing temporary bike parking solutions at events like the Cottonwood Arts Festival, Wildflower Festival, Huffhines Art Trails, etc.?

Kendal Hartley:  Yes, the City would like to add bicycle parking to the Civic Center as well as other city facilities. These funds have been requested in prior years, but funding limitations have not allowed these projects forward.

Yes, there currently is temporary bicycle parking at the Wildflower Festival and City staff is interested in exploring options to add bicycle parking at other community events.

6: Richardson has significant parts of a multi-use Trail Network in place. The City of Richardson Transportation and Park and Recreation Departments have plans to improve and extend the bicycle lane and trail network, including facilitating connections to our surrounding cities. Will you support continued implementation of the Richardson Bicycle Facilities Plan?

Kendal Hartley: Yes, trails were the number one priority identified by citizens in the Parks and Recreation and Open Space Master Plan.  The City is committed to continuing to expand the trail network in Richardson. This includes building a trail connection to the Bush Turnpike DART station and using both Federal and Dallas County funds to extend the Duck Creek trail. City staff continues efforts to identify grants and outside funding to assist with efforts to expand the trail network.

7: Two years ago the State Legislature overwhelmingly passed a safe passing law for vulnerable road users, including bicyclists, pedestrians, construction workers, etc (see attached example). The Governor vetoed the bill. All of our neighboring states have safe-passing laws and several cities in Texas including Plano, Dallas, Fort Worth, Denton, San Antonio, Austin, New Braunfels, Edinburg, El Paso, Beaumont and Helotes have adopted safe passing ordinances. Would you support implementation of this type of ordinance for Richardson?

Kendal Hartley: Recommend researching the legislation from other cities (i.e. Plano, Dallas, Fort Worth, Denton, etc.) and learn from their experiences to determine what approach would work best for Richardson before formally considering an ordinance.

1: Do you (and your family) ride a bicycle on Richardson roads or trails? For what purposes do you ride?

Scott Dunn: Occasionally my wife, son, daughters and I ride bicycles on Richardson bike lanes.  It is purely for recreational purposes.

2: The City of Richardson has supported quality of life facilities such as a park and trail system, recreation centers, swimming pools and bicycle lanes. These facilities make Richardson a more livable city where people want to live and businesses want to locate. What would you do to maintain and expand these qualities?

Scott Dunn: Funding is the only limiting factor when it comes to expanding or building any additional amenities.  I support the City to continue working with other entities: cities, non-profits, public-private partnerships and the like, to find ways to fund the expansion of these amenities.  I am also in favor analyzing the operational budget to find ways to fund these amenities provided it doesn’t adversely impact the budget necessary to continue city service levels in place.  I think the Council in future years will ask the voters to approve a bond to help expand some of the amenities.

3: Last year, Bike Friendly Richardson partnered with the City Transportation Department to submit a Bicycle Friendly Community application. The feedback that we received indicated that the City needed to improve in the following areas of bike-friendliness:

*Having an effective Bicycle Advisory Committee.

*Expanding the bicycle and pedestrian manager’s time focused on the 5 E’s (Engineering, Education, Encouragement, Enforcement, and     Evaluation & Planning) would help in scaling up your Bicycle Friendly Community efforts.

*Adopt a Complete Streets or Bicycle Accommodation policy and offer implementation guidance.

*Increase the amount of secure bicycle parking at popular destinations such as transit stops, schools, recreation and entertainment facilities, retail and office clusters and churches throughout the community.

*Expand encouragement efforts during National Bike Month in partnership with local bicycle advocacy groups. Have the Mayor / City Council proclaim May as Bike Month. Host, sponsor and/or encourage bicycle-themed community events such as community rides, a bicycle festival or a commuter challenge. Widely advertise all bicycle-themed community events.

What would you do to increase the chances of achieving a Bike Friendly Community designation during your term in office?

Scott Dunn: I think all the above suggestions are excellent.  I will support and encourage my fellow councilmembers to have these ideas placed on our near term action items. My family and I recently traveled to other cities like Denver and walked the Katy Trail in Dallas.  We noticed bicycle rental facilities in public places.  I would be in favor of pursuing a private-public partnership to provide this service along our bike trails.

4: Richardson has shown itself to be a progressive, forward-thinking city in terms of alternative transportation infrastructure, environmental conservation and restoration, and other quality of life criteria. Several cities in the US, including Boulder, CO; Kansas City, MO; and Fort Worth, TX; have implemented ordinances that require and/or incentivize the installation of bicycle parking as part of new commercial and multifamily construction or major renovation. Would you support the implementation of this type of ordinance in Richardson?

Scott Dunn: I know there are a lot of cyclists using E Renner Road and North Star in the Richardson panhandle for cycling.  When a zoning case was brought before Council, we encouraged the applicant to think about adding bicycle racks.  I believe the Council can continue to encourage developers to add bicycle accommodations without adding any ordinances.

5: Do you support the installation of more bicycle parking on City property, such as at parks, City Hall, the Courthouse, etc.? Do you support implementing temporary bike parking solutions at events like the Cottonwood Arts Festival, Wildflower Festival, Huffhines Art Trails, etc.?

Scott Dunn: Yes, when the utilization of the current bike racks requires additional bicycle parking space, I would support additional racks.  

It is my understanding the parks department will relocate bike racks from other city facilities during the great events the City hosts like the Cottonwood Art Festival, Wildflower Festival and Huffhines Art Trail.  If additional racks are required I support the items to be placed into the budget and to be purchased.

6: Richardson has significant parts of a multi-use Trail Network in place. The City of Richardson Transportation and Park and Recreation Departments have plans to improve and extend the bicycle lane and trail network, including facilitating connections to our surrounding cities. Will you support continued implementation of the Richardson Bicycle Facilities Plan?

Scott Dunn: Yes, and since I am not an avid bicyclist, I have and will continue to work with my cyclist friends, bicycle business owners and stalk “Bike Friendly Richardson” Facebook page to know and understand what is needed when it comes to cycling in Richardson.

7: Two years ago the State Legislature overwhelmingly passed a safe passing law for vulnerable road users, including bicyclists, pedestrians, construction workers, etc (see attached example). The Governor vetoed the bill. All of our neighboring states have safe-passing laws and several cities in Texas including Plano, Dallas, Fort Worth, Denton, San Antonio, Austin, New Braunfels, Edinburg, El Paso, Beaumont and Helotes have adopted safe passing ordinances. Would you support implementation of this type of ordinance for Richardson?

Scott Dunn: I would prefer this type of legislation be handled at the State level.  I find it disappointing the Governor vetoed the bill.  Since many of cycling routes are intertwined between several cities, I would not want the cyclists to have a false sense of safety when traveling in other cities.  It is always the best practice for cyclists to be very alert of oncoming traffic.

Bike Friendly Richardson friend, Barbara Fullerton sent us an email wanting to share her cause:

My name is Barbara Fullerton and I live in and cycle in Richardson/Plano area. This summer three librarians from Texas are participating in the Cycling for Libraries event in Europe. About 100 cyclists around the world were accepted to participate in this event. We are cycling from Amsterdam to Brussels, visiting public and special libraries. Check it out here.

We have set up a fundraising page.

We are trying to raise around $1000 for traveling funds.

Thank you for your consideration!

I think this is a fantastic opportunity for these ladies, and I’d love to hear about their journey. If you have a few bucks to spare, please help them out.