Main St. & 75 Area Revitalization Study
The City of Richardson is currently working on a revitalization plan for the Main St. / US 75 area. There will be a community open house this coming Tuesday, July 10th, at 6:30 PM at the Civic Center Grand Hall. Bike Friendly Richardson has been asked to participate, so if you can join us on Tuesday, here are the details:
The open house opens at 6:30 PM, and participants can arrive anytime between 6:30 and 7:20 to view the study plans and provide comments. There will be a presentation at 7:20 PM. Attendees should email [email protected] to RSVP so that they can print enough handouts for everyone. This is a great opportunity to weigh in on how this area can be transformed into a cool Richardson destination!
There is a bike rack at the Civic Center on the south side of the building – and we can ride somewhere to get a beer and a bite to eat afterwards.
From the City’s website:
“Main Street/Central Expressway Enhancement/Redevelopment Study Begins
A study of potential enhancement and redevelopment opportunities in the Main Street/Central Expressway area is under way, beginning with an inventory of existing conditions, a real estate market analysis and an open house for public input. The City Council on Monday reviewed the project scope and timeline with City staff and the lead consultant on the project.
The study area is approximately 415 acres, including the Central Expressway corridor from the southern City limit to Arapaho Road, as well as the City’s historic downtown. Both areas were identified for further study in the 2009 Comprehensive Plan.
There will be several opportunities for public input through the study process, beginning with an open house scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, July 10, in the Civic Center Grand Hall.
The open house will be designed to obtain input from a wide variety of interested individuals, groups and stakeholders, including business owners, property owners and other participants. It will provide an opportunity for those in attendance to discuss and prioritize issues for the corridor, imagine their own preferred future for the area and participate in the identification of action items for advancing study goals. The open house will be structured around a series of topics at various stations in the meeting room. Participants will be able to visit any or all of the stations to provide comment. A presentation will be made at approximately 7:20 p.m., with more time for the open house afterwards.
A final report is expected to be presented to the City Council in December. ”
Click the links below to watch Monday’s City Council presentation:
http://richardsontx.swagit.com/e/06182012-585/#4
http://richardsontx.swagit.com/e/06182012-585/#5
How to Create a Bike to Work Day Event
Now that Bike Friendly Richardson has successfully held our very first Bike To Work Day event, we’d like to share the steps we took to make it happen. One of the goals for this year’s event was that it could serve as a template and an inspiration to other bicycling groups, cities, and organizations for next year and the years to come.
Bike Friendly Richardson is an all-volunteer group with no operating budget. So once we decided that we wanted to have breakfast for bike commuters, we knew that we would need financial sponsorship from another organization. BikeDFW was our main partner for this event. They provided a tent, chairs, tables, coolers, literature, and paid for coffee and pastries. BikeDFW was also instrumental in reaching out to DART and securing permission to use Arapaho Center Station as our venue, and getting Richardson Bike Mart’s participation in sending one of their mechanics to provide free bicycle tune-ups.
Once we had a venue, Richard contacted local stores and restaurants to see who could donate hot food and some more drinks. Whole Foods, Taco Republic, and The Egg And I all graciously agreed to be a part of the event. Dr. Pepper Snapple Group also donated bottled water and handed out Neuro Energy drinks. It was also a good opportunity for these businesses to get more recognition in the community and we were glad to be able to work with them.
We also cooperated with the City of Richardson by notifying them of the event, and checking whether we needed to fill out any permit information. Additionally, the City’s Bicycle Coordinator, Dave Carter, provided us with maps of Richardson’s bicycle facilities to hand out at the event.
BikeDFW President, Marc Mumby, designed an event poster, which we posted on Facebook, blogs, and asked our sponsors to post in their shops and online. BikeDFW helped us coordinate volunteers to pick up the equipment and supplies, set up and run the booth, and take down the booth and return the equipment to BikeDFW.
Now that we have a relationship with some community partners, and have been through the steps involved, we have a better idea of how to put future events together.
With a Bike to Work Day event, it’s important to decide what your event is about, and plan accordingly. Some Bike To Work Day events, as our neighbor to the west, Steve A. noted, can seem to be more about cyclists than for cyclists, if the event schedule or location doesn’t reflect cyclists’ actual commuting habits.
We tried to make our event about appreciation of and support for commuters and aspiring commuters, so we scheduled the event from 7 AM to 9:30 AM. We probably could have even opened it up a little bit earlier. We also did our best to choose a location that was on multiple commuting routes. Arapaho Center Station is the busiest of Richardson’s four DART stations, is popular with multi-modal cyclists, and is also located next to the Central Trail. As well, it’s not uncommon to see folks cycling down Greenville early in the morning. By my unofficial count, we had about 30 cyclists stop at the booth. Some were on their regular route and a few made a detour for some hot breakfast and to talk shop. The bicycle tune-ups were utilized and definitely appreciated! Although we weren’t sure what to expect, we believe our first Bike To Work Day was a great success.
-Jenny Rilling
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Pics From The Richardson Bike To Work Day Energizer Station
The BikeDFW/Bike Friendly Richardson Bike To Work Day Energizer Station was a great success! We had about 2 dozen bike commuters stop by to recharge for their ride to work – and we think we’ve motivated dozens of other commuters to think about biking. Here are some pics. Click here to see all of them.
I would personally like to thank:
– Marc, Brian, Michael, Warren and the whole BikeDFW group for making this event possible – and for providing the pastries and coffee.
– Chris from DART who let us set up at their Arapaho Center Station.
– Richardson Bike Mart for providing Dana made bike repairs for those who needed them.
– Taco Republic for providing delicious breakfast tacos.
– Dr. Pepper and Neuro for providing water and Neuro energy drinks.
– The Egg & I Restaurant for providing some really good orange juice.
– Whole Foods Richardson for providing water.
– And finally, Jenny Rilling with BikeDFW and Bike Friendly Richardson, who came up with the idea of the Energizer Station and made it happen.
Since it was such a great success, we’d love to do this every year – AND we’d love to see other bike friendly groups doing it around the Metroplex.
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Recap and Pics of Ciclovia de Dallas on SuburbanAssault.org
For those of you who couldn’t make it out to the Ciclovia de Dallas yesterday, you can find a quick recap and some pics over at Suburban Assault.
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Great Article In The March 2012 Far North Dallas Advocate
You might have read in this post, local blogs, Suburban Assault and Biking In Dallas were mentioned in a local magazine, the Far North Dallas Advocate. It is a really great article that made it to print in their March 2012 issue. Unfortunately, since this is the last day of the month, most of those issues are gone or replaced with April issues. So, keep an eye out for the March 2012 issue, and grab a few.
Fortunately, if you miss it, you can download a digital copy here. Or, you can always read Emily Toman‘s online article here.
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Some Exciting News
Bike Friendly Richardson is pleased to announce that we have just submitted the application to have Richardson considered for a Bicycle Friendly Community designation!
This was an idea that we had had for a while and last November, Jenny Rilling took it on as a project. With the help of City staff, we made it happen. The Bicycle Friendly Community program is administered by the League of American Bicyclists. With all the bicycling improvements in recent years, and more to come, it was time to throw our hat in the ring. Not every application receives the Bicycle Friendly designation, however, the LAB staff generously provide feedback to each applicant to help them do better next time.
This is our first time submitting the application, so we don’t know how we’ll do, but we are proud of how far we’ve come, and we’re looking forward to getting feedback on where we can improve. Currently only three cities in Texas have received the Bicycle Friendly Community designation: Austin, San Antonio, and The Woodlands.
We’d like to recognize the following people without whom this wouldn’t be possible:
Richard Wezensky and Jenny Rilling with Bike Friendly Richardson
Dave Carter, the City’s Bicycle Coordinator and Assistant Director of the Transportation Department
Jessica Shutt and Mark Titus in the Transportation Department
Jim Lockart and Jim Dulac at the City
The Richardson City Council, Parks Department, Police Department
And of course, all the BFR friends and everyone out there who said, “Hey, we should improve biking in Richardson”, and everyone out there using the bike trails, bike lanes, and roads and having fun and trying to continually improve things for cyclists.
Thanks, everyone, for all you do. See you out there on the road!
-BFR Staff
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Safe Passing Approved In Plano
BFR stopped by to show our support for cyclists who were working to get a Safe Passing Ordinance approved in Plano – which was on the Plano City Council’s meeting agenda last night. There was a crowd of about fifty cyclists, who also came out to show their support.
I have to give some recognition to the Plano City Council. Not knowing what to expect at this session, I was worried that there might be some hesitation or debate with passing this ordinance. Fortunately, the vote was quite uneventful and relatively quick. They introduced it as part of the meeting’s Consent Agenda, voted on and approved it in a matter of minutes.
Plano is now the third north Texas city to pass a Safe Passing Ordinance after Forth Worth and Denton. Hopefully Richardson will be close behind.
Read more about the ordinance at Bike DFW.
Below is content pulled from the approved ordinance:
An Ordinance of the City of Plano, Texas amending Chapter 14, Offenses- Miscellaneous, of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Plano to add a new Article XI, Vulnerable Road Users, to regulate the conduct of motor vehicle operators while passing cyclists on a highway or street and providing a penalty; and providing a repealer clause, a savings clause, a severability clause, a publication clause and an effective date.
WHEREAS, the City of Plano Police Department recently conducted a review of past accidents involving pedal-cyclist and determined that driver inattention was a major cause of most pedal-cyclist crashes within the City; and
WHEREAS, City staff recommends that City Council add a new Article XI, Vulnerable Road Users, to establish safe passing distances and to regulate the other conduct of motor vehicle operators while passing cyclists on a highway or street to enhance cyclist safety; and
WHEREAS, upon recommendation of staff and upon full review and consideration of all matters thereto, the City Council hereby finds and determines that it is necessary and in the best interest of the city and public safety to amend Chapter 14 of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Plano to add a new Article XI, Vulnerable Road Users, to regulate the conduct of motor vehicle operators while passing cyclists on a highway or street.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PLANO, TEXAS, THAT:
Section I. A new Article XI, Vulnerable Road Users of Chapter 14, Offenses- Miscellaneous is hereby adopted to regulate the conduct of motor vehicle operators while passing cyclists on the highway or street to read in its entirety as follows:
ARTICLE XI. VULNERABLE ROAD USERS
Section 14-127. Definitions. The following words and phrases as used in this section shall have the meanings as set forth in this subsection.
“Vulnerable Road User” shall mean a person operating a bicycle, hand cycle, unicycle, motor-driven cycle, or other human powered wheeled vehicle on a street or highway.
“Safe Distance” shall mean three (3) feet if the operator’s vehicle is a passenger car, or six (6) feet if the operator’s vehicle is a truck or a commercial motor vehicle.
Section 14-128. Passing a vulnerable road user.
(a) An operator of a motor vehicle passing a vulnerable road user on a highway or street shall:
(1) vacate the lane in which the vulnerable road user is located if the highway or street has two or more marked lanes running in the same direction; or
(2) pass the vulnerable road user at a safe distance.
(b) An operator of a motor vehicle may not overtake and execute a right-hand turn in front of a vulnerable road user unless the operator is safely clear of the vulnerable road user, taking into account the speed at which the vulnerable road user is traveling and the braking requirements of the motor vehicle.
(c) An operator or passenger of a motor vehicle may not knowingly throw or project any object or substance at or against a vulnerable road user.
Section 14-129. Penalty.
Any person, firm or corporation found to be violating any term or provision of this article shall be subject to a fine in accordance with Section 1-4(b) of the City Code of Ordinances for each offense.”
Section II. All provisions of the ordinances of the City of Plano in conflict with the provisions of this Ordinance are hereby repealed, and all other provisions of the Ordinances of the City of Plano, not in conflict with the provisions of this Ordinance, shall remain in full force and effect.
Section III. The repeal of any ordinance or part of ordinances effectuated by the enactment of this Ordinance shall not be construed as abandoning any action now pending under or by virtue of such ordinance or as discontinuing, abating, modifying or altering any penalty accruing or to accrue, or as affecting any rights of the municipality under any section or provisions of any ordinance at the time of passage of this Ordinance.
Section IV. It is the intention of the City Council that this Ordinance, and every provision thereof, shall be considered severable and the invalidity or partial invalidity of any section, clause or provision of this Ordinance shall not affect the validity of any other portion of this Ordinance.
Section V. This Ordinance shall become effective immediately upon its passage and publication as required by law.
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Plano Safe Passing Ordinance – Monday Night Vote – February 13th
Our friend Warren Casteel, with BikeDFW, sent us an email encouraging cyclist to come out and show their support at Monday night’s Plano City Council meeting. Apparently, they are voting on The – long awaited – Safe Passing Ordinance. There is hope that if we can pass this in Plano, perhaps we can pass it here in Richardson as well.
This ordinance stipulates distances motor vehicles must allow cyclists, outlaws throwing or objects or substances at cyclists, and provides legal remedy if a cyclist is hit by a motor vehicle in some situations. The ordinance can be viewed here (pdf).
Plano City Hall is about a block from the DART Station. Map.
We hope to make it out there and we hope to see you there too.
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Report from the 2012 Texas Trails & Active Transportation Conference
I spent the latter half of last week down in sunny (and humid!) San Antonio with hundreds of other cycling advocates, public officials, and planning and design professionals. This conference is put on every other year by two state-wide organization—BikeTexas (a cycling advocacy organization that spends the odd years lobbying the state legislature) and the Texas Trails Network (an organization dedicated to the provision of linear trails for transportation and recreation uses).
As always, the conference was excellent. Beyond the great job the two organizations do planning and running the event, the caliber of presenters and speakers is unparalleled, in my opinion. Plenary speakers included John Burke, president of Trek Bicycle Co.; Texas State Senator Rodney Ellis, D-Houston; Congressman Jim Oberstar, D-Minnesota, and Keith Laughlin, president of the Rails to Trails Conservancy. While each of the speakers was excellent, it was truly an honor to hear the speech from Jim Oberstar—the father of Safe Routes to School, the Transportation Enhancements program, and multi-modal funding in federal transportation bills. Few people have had as great an impact on bicycling.
North Texas was well-represented at the conference both in terms of presenters speaking about the great strides we’re making in the Metroplex, as well as attendees there to learn what is happening across the state. There were several presentations given that focused on bikes and pedestrians in North Texas:
- Max Kallhammer (Dallas’ bicycle coordinator) spoke about Dallas’ new bike plan;
- Michael Hellman and Jared White (from the Dallas Parks Department) presented Dallas’ new “Happy Trails” trail signage program;
- Andrew Howard and Jason Roberts spoke about the success of their Better Block program (which we STILL need to bring to Richardson);
- Deb Humphreys of NCTCOG discussed the development of a complete streets policy for North Texas; and
- Yours truly presented Collin County’s new regional trail master plan.
In addition to those that presented, there were city employees and advocates from McKinney, Allen, Plano, Grapevine, Fort Worth, and others from Dallas (including three council members) in attendance. And finally, Lewisville won an award for its recently-completed citywide Trails Master Plan.
But we didn’t just sit around for three days. There were also SIXTEEN mobile sessions where participants could take a tour of the various bike routes, trails, and urban revitalization projects in San Antonio by biking, walking, running, or paddling—depending on the session. This was truly an active conference!
All-in-all it was a great experience and I highly recommend EVERYONE connected to BFR attend the next conference, which is scheduled for 2014 and might happen right here in North Texas!
– Adam Wood
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What About Bike Parking
So, we’ve got the great biking infrastructure in the works. Bike trails, bike lanes and bike signs are being set up all over town to encourage bike riding. But what about bike PARKING. Where are folks going lock their bikes once they reach their destinations? I’ve seen a few racks around town and I’ve managed to find some random sign poles or fences to lock my bike, but as ridership increases, parking is going to be a real problem.
We would definitely like to see more racks around our city facilities. There are a few racks at places like city hall, most schools and the public library. But other places we visit, including our post offices, playgrounds and parks don’t have them.
One of our goals this year is to map out bike rack locations around town and to encourage riders to politely request bike racks at their favorite destinations. We might even post a little flyer that you can print and hand out to business owners.
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Bike Friendly Richardson 
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