Richardson City Staff Presents Bike Plan To City Council
On Monday, April 20, 2015 Richardson City Staff presented their Bike Plan to Richardson City Council. The presentation was a combination recap of what they’ve done, as well as their next steps.
It was nice to see how important bicycling is to our city officials and how they continue to see the value of what it brings to our community. It was also nice to see that our little grassroots, advocacy group has been recognized—not only for what we’ve done, but also as a partner moving forward.
You can catch the presentation, online. Click the link below and go to Item D in the list:
http://richardsontx.swagit.com/play/04202015-1034
The video shows Michael Spicer, Director of Development Services and Lori Smeby, Director of Parks and Recreation. Dave Carter, Asst. Director of Development Services, Transportation and Traffic – who helped put it together – was there as well.
The were lots of people who were engaged in the conversation, but we really appreciate our City Council’s positive reception of the Bike Plan and their enthusiastic support of cycling in Richardson. Thank you Laura Gibbs Maczka, Bob Townsend, Mark Solomon, Scott Dunn, Kendal Hartley, Paul Voelker and Steve Mitchell.
This is a great opportunity to have a voice for all people who ride bikes. We should work to build our community as a diverse group with a broad perspective. If you have any friends or neighbors who are interested but concerned about cycling, please invite them to join our Facebook page, engage our City and be part of the conversation.
This is an exciting time to live in our city and we look forward to the next steps.
Central Trail Nearing Completion
According to last week’s city newsletter “Week In Review”, the Central Trail extension is nearing completion:
The expansion of the Central Trail is about 90 percent complete, and the City plans to celebrate its grand opening with a ribbon cutting June 2. The 1.9-mile southern expansion connects the 10-foot wide multiuse trail from the Arapaho Road DART Station to Richardson’s southern city limit. A future connection in the City of Dallas is expected to eventually tie it into the White Rock Creek Trail. The $4.5 million project is funded through Dallas County, $1.4 million from the City of Richardson’s 2010 Bond Program and Regional Tollway Revenue funds.
The City is also working to expand the Central Trail half a mile to the north to Richardson’s northern city limit. The existing trail ends at Renner Road, but the expansion will tie in to the CityLine development and eventually connect to the Plano trail system. The $1.8 million northern expansion is funded through Regional Tollway Revenue and the City’s Tax Increment Finance Zone #2. It is expected to be complete in the summer of 2015 and will allow the trail to run from city limit to city limit.
Watch a City Council work session presentation about progress on the Central Trail at bit.ly/1lDwyxu.
We can’t wait to ride this. It’ll be fantastic once cyclists are able to ride from the north end of town, eventually to the White Rock Creek Trail and into Dallas.
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Richardson Gets Safe Routes To School
A few years back, Ricahardson was 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.
It’s finally getting implemented and is scheduled to be complete next month. According to the SRTS plan (pdf), we will be getting:
• Barrier-free curb ramps
• Sidewalks (repairs and missing links)
• School crosswalk and signage upgrades
• Bike lanes
• Bike routes (I’m not sure what they mean by this)
They are already working on the sidewalks and barrier-free curb ramps in Yale Park. It’ll also be nice to get the bike lanes, which will help calm the car traffic through the neighborhood streets, create more awareness for bicycling and encourage more people to ride.
The original information about our Safe Routes To School grant had mentioned bike racks for the schools, but they aren’t on the current proposal (pdf). That either means there wasn’t enough funds or ‘Bike routes’ listed above is a typo, and we are still getting them.
We are glad that we live in a city that works hard to get grants like this. This is a big win for Richardson and we hope to see more developments that improve safety and encourage more active transportation.
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Bicycling Goals For Richardson – 2014
What do you think the 2014 Bike Goals for the City of Richardson should be? Please post your ideas that would help improve biking in our city – and would cost little to nothing out of their budget. We’ll see if we can politely bring them to their attention.
I’ll start:
– Safe Passing Ordinance. They passed it in Plano and a few other north Texas towns, so it makes sense for Richardson.
– Keep Public Trails Open Longer. Figure out a way to open the Owen’s Trail for pedestrians and cyclists through the Sherrill Park Golf Course for much longer hours – 24 if possible
– Safer Intersections Along Bike Routes. An example would be to turn the intersection at Melrose and Custer into a 4-way stop.
– Bike Parking Ordinance. Require new construction to include bike parking. OR, at least, offer good incentives for developers to add them to their plans.
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The City of Richardson Talks About Their Trail Expansion
The City of Richardson is starting to realize that they need to really promote their bicycling friendliness. Over the past few years, they’ve made great efforts to improve awareness, expand the trail network and add traffic-calming bike lanes. However, aside from us at BFR and our cycling neighbors, folks in Texas rarely get to hear about it.
It seems like that is starting to change. Here is a video that they produced to promote the expansion of the Central Trail, along the DART rail line.
They are also talking about the expansion on the front page of the city’s monthly newsletter, Richardson Today. Here is a digital copy of that issue, featuring BFR friend and local cyclist, Marshall Hallberg.
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TxDOT to Study US-75 Corridor from I-635 to Highway 121
From the City of Richardson‘s weekly newsletter:
The City Council on Monday discussed an ongoing TxDOT study of US-75 from I-635 to Highway 121. The study is designed to identify and address mobility needs in the corridor to meet future growth, enhance quality of life, support economic development and improve public safety.
The City of Richardson is developing a vision statement for the project, which identifies goals the City has for the project. Preliminary goals include finding congestion relief on both sides of US-75 and keeping the highway from becoming a greater vertical barrier. The City is also seeking to keep the highway easily accessible for local drivers and enhance pedestrian and bicycle mobility across the corridor.
Study leaders are examining several transportation alternatives in the corridor, including the addition of freeway lanes and managed lanes, arterial improvements and public transportation enhancements.
Watch the work session presentation at http://bit.ly/XHh1z1.
I have to say, I’m certainly glad the City is listening to it’s citizens. It seems like every planning meeting that I’ve attended had folks complaining about the vertical barrier of US-75, splitting the city into two – and that there aren’t any safe, south-side crossings for pedestrians and cyclists. I hope TxDOT takes that into serious consideration.
I wouldn’t mind seeing a nice pedestrian/bike underpass or bridge crossing US-75. south of Belt Line Road. We’ve got some great, under-highway passages on both sides of Renner Road. Let’s give some attention to our southern neighbors.
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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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Richardson City Council Receives Update on Central Trail
From the City of Richardson‘s weekly newsletter:
The City Council received an update Monday on the extension of the Central Trail, which runs from the Spring Creek Trail in north Richardson and currently ends at the Arapaho Road DART Station. Plans call for the trail to extend to Richardson’s southern city limit and eventually connect with Dallas’ White Rock Creek Trail.
The City expects to begin construction on the trail in January and complete the project in early 2014. The 1.9-mile extension will cost $4 million and is funded through Richardson’s 2010 Bond Program and Dallas County.
Watch the work session presentation at http://bit.ly/P8H54b.
We’re pretty excited about this extension and what it would mean for connecting the east side of Richardson to the White Rock Creek Trail (although the current plan doesn’t extend that far, just yet). This would make commuting into Dallas – via multi-purpose trails – pretty easy.
We still have our reservations of how the trail is planned just north of Arapaho, connecting to the Arapaho DART station and the existing portion of the trail to the north. So far, it’s just a narrow sidewalk and there are no plans to re-route or widen it. Click here to see our post on this.
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Bike Lane Update
From the City Of Richardson‘s weekly newsletter:
The City Council received an update on efforts to expand the Bike Transportation Program in Richardson at its work session on Monday. The City is among many other municipalities and organizations in North Texas working to provide more bike lanes and improve safety for people who commute by bike. Many of these bike routes are designed to connect across the region when complete.
Expanding Richardson’s bike lane system and enhancing pavement markings and signage is one of the City Council’s near-term goals. Ten miles of a planned 20 miles of bike lanes have been installed, including lanes on Custer Parkway, Grove Road and Waterview Drive. Additional lanes funded through the Safe Routes to School grant are expected to be complete in 2013 along Collins Boulevard from Plano Road to Jupiter Road, Yale Boulevard from Arapaho Road to Campbell Road, and Owens Boulevard from Woodoak Drive to Campbell Road. The Duck Creek Trail Extension will add a route in 2014 along Collins Boulevard from Plano Road to US-75.
The City has installed signs identifying bike routes in Richardson and is working to clearly mark them on roads to improve safety. City officials will continue to work with bicycle organizations, including local partner Bike Friendly Richardson, and neighborhood groups to identify and implement additional bike routes.
Watch the Bike Transportation Program presentation here.
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Proposal for Regional Trail Connection at Breckinridge Park
From the City Of Richardson:
The City of Plano is partnering with the City of Richardson to plan and construct a 1.9-mile trail that would wind through Richardson to connect an existing trail in southeast Plano to the Timbers Nature Preserve Park in Murphy. The trail is completely funded through the City of Plano’s bond program. The City of Richardson would provide the land and future maintenance of the trail if the City Council approves an Inter Local Agreement at a future meeting.
The trail is proposed to be built in two phases, with Phase 1 running from the west side of Murphy Road within an Oncor high transmission line corridor to the existing trail on Rowlett Creek in Breckinridge Park. Construction on this part of the trail is expected to take place in 2013. Phase 2, which is currently unfunded, would connect Rowlett Creek to Otto Middle School. The City of Plano hopes to receive a grant from Collin County to pay for additional trail length, which is set to be constructed in the next two to three years.
Watch the work session presentation at http://bit.ly/Pr38zq.
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Bike Friendly Richardson 
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