Don’t Forget To Pick Up A Sunday Dallas Paper
Today’s Dallas Morning News has two great articles that are a must read for local cyclists. The cover page has an interesting article about the 2011 Dallas Bike Plan. The Business section has a great article about Villy Customs.
If you don’t usually get the paper, you may want to swing down to your local news stand and pick one up.
2011 Dallas Bike Plan Public Meeting
We’re spreading the word for our neighbors – just in case you haven’t read about this on another local blog.
From their poster:
What: Dallas Bike Plan Public Meeting
Description: To review facilities proposed in the Draft Network Plan
Where: Dallas City Hall L1FN Conference Center (located at the NW corner of City Hall on L1 Level)
Date: Thursday, September 23, 2010
Time: 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.
From their site:
The draft Bikeway System network plan will be available for public review and input. Attendees will be encouraged to provide feedback on the alignment of the proposed on-street and off-street portions of the network, as well as the facility type assignments for the on-street portion of the overall network. An introductory presentation will provide an overview of the methodology for creating the proposed Bikeway System network, and will show the various draft street profile types that have been developed for the Bike Plan in connection with the City’s Complete Streets Initiative. More.
Comments Off on 2011 Dallas Bike Plan Public Meeting
East Dallas Veloway – Connecting Richardson To East And Downtown Dallas
Last night I stopped off at the public meeting that discussed the new East Dallas Veloway Master Plan. There was a lot of detail discussed and I couldn’t catch all the specifics about phases and timing. So, I’ll just give you some of the top-line information. More details will come as we get them.
THE PLAN:
The East Dallas Veloway is a major part of the Dallas Veloweb, a network of trails designed by the City of Dallas Parks and Recreation Department. The idea is to build a “backbone” trail to connect a series of neighborhood trails. They will utilize existing city infrastructure and funding from multiple sources (including the City, County and DART) to bring another connection from northeast Dallas into downtown Dallas (via the Katy and Santa Fe Trails).
THE ROUTE:
The route will utilize the old Union Pacific railway, and create a more direct link from a northern part of the White Rock Creek Trail, just south of Forest Lane and Central, all the way to the White Rock Lake Park Hike & Bike Trail.
At the north end, via the White Rock Creek Trail, it will connect to the Cottonwood Trail – which will lead into Richardson. Half way down, it will connect with the new phases of the Katy Trail, which will lead you to downtown Dallas. At the south end, the connection with the White Rock Creek Trail will connect you with the Santa Fe Trail, which will also bring you into downtown Dallas.
TRAIL FEATURES:
The East Dallas Veloway will be built similar to the railroad route its replacing, a long, straight path with no hills or dips – just gentle slopes. The trail itself will be 14′ wide with the option of a second pedestrian path, similar to parts of the Katy Trail. There will be 5 trail heads and 11 gateways for access. The signage will be large 30′ tall structures that will be visible from multiple directions.
At this point, there are no plans for lighting. They say that it’s really expensive to install and maintain, plus it implies safety – where it may not be late at night. Also, the plan is to treat the trail like a city park, with daily closings.
Eventually, the idea is to get a group similar to the Friends of the Katy Trail to get organized and work on funding for improvements for some of these amenities.
TIMING:
UPDATE (From our friend Ron – see comment below):
The Veloway is still a long way off. Phase III will wait for the passage of an upcoming bond package of more than a million dollars from both the City of Dallas and Dallas County. There is no budget for Phase IV yet
UPDATE: Here’s a link from Stuart, with a copy of the presentation for anyone looking for more details: Download (pdf)
Comments Off on East Dallas Veloway – Connecting Richardson To East And Downtown Dallas
DON’T FORGET Veloway Public Meeting – Tonight
IF bicycle movies aren’t your cup of tea and you happen to be curious about the East Dallas Veloway Master Plan, don’t forget about the public meeting tonight:
Veloway Trail Phase 3 and YMCA, Public Meeting/Workshop is scheduled:
Date: Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Time: 6:30 p.m.
Location: The Ridgewood-Belcher Recreation Center, 6818 Fisher Road at Trammel Drive
The purpose of this meeting is to present “East Dallas Veloway Master Plan” and provide updates to funding and schedule. Please plan to attend.
Comments Off on DON’T FORGET Veloway Public Meeting – Tonight
Veloway Public Meeting
Our friends from Bike Friendly North Dallas shared some information with the Bike Friendly group:
Veloway Trail Phase 3 and YMCA, Public Meeting/Workshop is scheduled:
Date: Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Time: 6:30 p.m.
Location: The Ridgewood-Belcher Recreation Center, 6818 Fisher Road at Trammel Drive
The purpose of this meeting is to present “East Dallas Veloway Master Plan” and provide updates to funding and schedule. Please plan to attend.
Comments Off on Veloway Public Meeting
New Bike Lanes On Waterview Drive
Based on the Richardson Bike Route Plan (downloadable pdf), we were expecting this. It’s still a nice surprise to see them actually getting done. If you happen to go down Waterview Drive between Arapaho and Belt Line, you’ll see one less lane for driving (each direction) and a new one dedicated for bikes (and parking). These bike lanes are expected to stretch from Campbell, all the way south to Spring Valley. Way to go, Richardson.
Even if you have mixed feelings about having bike lanes, you’ve got to remember that these serve more than just creating safer routes for bicyclists, they also serve as a way to slow down traffic through Richardson neighborhoods.
You can also read about other Richardson bike lanes here and here.
We will keep you posted as we discover more bike friendly routes around town.
Comments Off on New Bike Lanes On Waterview Drive
Pics From Today’s Trail Dedication
Today, we went to the Cottonwood Trail Esplanade Dedication. For the first time, we were able to see the new addition to the Dallas County trail system and we were VERY impressed. The design and construction of the esplanade is a masterpiece of landscape architecture that we are very fortunate to have in our county.
The Cottonwood Creek Trail is a four mile connection between the Preston Ridge Trail and the White Rock Trail that will allow safe passage under the High five interchange. You can find more information at CottonwoodTrail.org.
This trail is very significant for Richardson pedestrians and cyclists because it shows that city planners were thinking about a complete solution when they designed and constructed the High five interchange. It shows that these planners care about creating a livable city for everybody.
Mary Poss - Former Dallas Mayor Pro-Term
The dedication was nice as well. It was led by Dallas city officials including Mary Poss, Maurine Dickey, Linda Koop and Jerry Allen.
Mayor Gary Slagel, Michael Massey (Director of Parks & Recreation) and several other Richardson officials were in attendance as well. I was also glad to meet some friends of Bike Friendly Richardson.
Click here or on any of the pics to see the whole set.
Representation From Richardson
Comments Off on Pics From Today’s Trail Dedication
Bike Friendly Richardson 
Comments Off on Don’t Forget To Pick Up A Sunday Dallas Paper