Sunday, May 18, 2008

The hidden value of bike trails.


From National Geographic Magazine...
In order to ward off hungry predators, short-horned lizards are capable of inflating their bodies up to twice their size, resembling a spiny balloon. And if this proves insufficient, some species employ one of the animal kingdom’s most bizarre defensive mechanisms: They shoot blood from their eyes.

The ominous squirting blood emanates from ducts in the corners of their eyes and can travel a distance of up to three feet (one meter). It’s meant to confuse would-be predators, but also contains a chemical that is noxious to dogs, wolves, and coyotes.



Recently at a public meeting to promote a connection between the Katy Trail and the Arts District, one very prominent supporter of the Katy Trail made the following comment,
"One of the best things the Katy Trail has done is to get bicycles off the streets."
Sometimes, I just want to puff up and squirt blood from my eyes.

Thursday, May 15, 2008

Bike Friendly.



Isn't this what they really mean?

Friday, May 09, 2008

Quiz Time!

Following are five items that are often recommended for improved bicycling safety.

A) Separate Bike Path



B) Bicycle Helmet



C) Bike Lanes



D) Bike bell



E) Reflective Safety Vest






Please rank them in the order of effectiveness for improving safety for vehicular and transportation cyclists.

1) _____________________

2) _____________________

3) _____________________

4) _____________________

5) _____________________



Submit you answers in the comments section. I will post the correct ranking (with rationale and data points) at a later date.

Tuesday, May 06, 2008

Garden tillers, composting bins, and manure spreaders.

Dear Friends at Rodale,

As a long-time fan of Rodale Publications (beginning when I researched garden-tillers and composting bins back in 1968 as a teenager), I was dismayed to see my city listed as one of the worst cities for cyclists in the US. The author (Christine Mattheis) obviously never visited the city, checked her sources, or did much research beyond Googling, and yet she draws ill-informed and incorrect conclusions.

http://www.bicycling.com/article/0,6610,s-1-18-17082-1,00.html

The following is the concept that drives our bicycle planning/transportation efforts: “Cyclists fare best when they act as, and are treated as, the drivers of other vehicles.” -- John Forester, P.E.

The City of Dallas maintains a 375 mile signed Bicycle Route System of cyclist selected, on-street, shared-lane system utilizing low volume local streets and roads, and has maintained this system since 1985. In addition to working with hundreds of local cyclists and bicycle clubs (including The Greater Dallas Bicyclists), the system was developed following the principles developed by Mr. John Forester, P.E., as laid out in “Bicycle Transportation” (MIT Press). Utilizing the Effective Cycling concept he developed for the League of American Cyclists, the Dallas Bike Plan creates a network of bicycle routes covering the entire city, with a grid system crossing a one-mile intervals.

Additionally, the City has 50 miles of existing Grade 1 & 2 paved park trails, and plans for 100 more miles of Grade 1 trails (12’ minimum width, paved for all-weather use), of which funding has been secured for approximately 50 miles.

The City does not employ bike lanes, as they are a bicycle traffic control device, and have never been shown to increase either cycling or cycling safety. They are most effective in university towns where there is a high concentration of Class C (inexperienced) cyclists centered around a central point (i.e., a campus). While bike lanes remain a “panacea” for many cycling advocates, their actual effectiveness in encouraging cycling and promoting safety in anything other than ideal circumstances remains highly dubious. Retrofitting such designs is cost prohibitive, as the needed right of way must either come from sidewalks, private landowners, or by reducing the width of vehicle travel lanes to below the already sub-standard 11 feet width of the lanes on the vast majority of our urban thoroughfares.

As you are no doubt aware, the greatest danger to cyclists is not being struck from behind by a passing motorist (as many cyclists and non-cyclists believe), but rather the primary danger to cyclists involve intersections and the turning movements of other vehicles. While the protection from being struck from the rear afforded by a paint stripe is debatable, the increased danger of alleys, curb-cuts, driveways and intersections caused by bike lanes is well documented.

Ms. Christine Mattheis mistakenly (and lazily, I might ad) confuses the old 300 mile Veloweb plan instituted by the North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG) for a non-existent bike lane plan for the City of Dallas. The NCTCOG Veloweb currently calls for 644 miles of 12’ wide, road-separated multi-purpose trails covering a four county region.

http://www.nctcog.org/trans/sustdev/bikeped/Mobility2030_Exh15-15_1_10_30_07.pdf

http://www.nctcog.org/trans/sustdev/bikeped/veloweb.asp

Much of her criticism probably referred to the region as a whole (in spite of her continually referring to “the City”), without recognizing that the DFW Metroplex currently has the lowest population density of any metropolitan statistical area in the nation. In the suburban sprawl of the Dallas-Fort Worth area, the lack of bicycle facilities is hardly to be unexpected. Bicycle transportation is a desired by-product of high-density population centers. The urban core of Dallas has bicycle/pedestrian trip share rates as high as 12%, while the same rate in the suburban communities is closer to 1%.

I invite Ms. Mattheis to visit Dallas sometime (not the suburban sprawl, but the City) and see for herself, or to request a copy of our Bike Plan. Again, as a long time admirer of Rodale, I expect a higher level of journalism from your publications than this “drive-by” article represents.

Sunday, May 04, 2008

Cutting edge cyclist.

Monday, March 10, 2008

White Rock Spillway meeting

There will be a PUBLIC MEETING concerning the repairs to the White Rock Lake Spillway on Thursday, March 13 at 6 pm in the Winfrey Point Building at White Rock Lake Park, 950 E. Lawther. The project team will be presenting the final design recommendations and reviewing the anticipated construction timetable.

Public comment is welcome.

For additional information, contact: Cassia Sanchez, DWU Project
Manager - 214/671-9559.

Persons with special communication or accommodation needs are
encouraged to contact Alva Baker, Baker Consulting Associates,
214/428-6432 or bcaabaker@aol.com. Requests for language interpreters
or other special communication needs should be made at least three
days prior to the Public Meeting. Every reasonable effort will be
made to accommodate those needs.

Wednesday, February 27, 2008

"O what a tangled web we weave..."

The North Central Texas Council of Governments is hosting the first in a series of county specific meetings to review the Regional Veloweb, a 644 mile off-street trail network planned for the Metroplex,

At the Tarrant County Regional Veloweb Review meeting, NCTCOG staff will give a presentation on the history of the Regional Veloweb and long term goals for the Bicycle and Pedestrian Program. City planners, government staff, and interested Tarrant County residents will then have an opportunity to review maps, identify priorities for the county, and provide NCTCOG with feedback about planned and existing trails. Information from the Regional Veloweb Review meetings will be used to update and expand upon regional bicycle and pedestrian planning efforts.

The Tarrant County meeting will be held at 3 pm, Thursday, March 6, 2008, on the second floor of the Intermodal Transportation Center (1001 Jones Street, Fort Worth, map). Please see the attached meeting notice for details and visit http://www.nctcog.org/trans/sustdev/bikeped/veloweb.asp for updates to the County Meeting Schedule. If you are unable to attend the meeting scheduled within your county, please do not hesitate to contact me with your comments or attend one of the other county specific meetings. The second county specific meeting will be held on April 3, 2008, in Denton County.

Thank you in advance for your support of regional bicycle and pedestrian planning efforts.

Jen Ebel

Transportation Planner

Sustainable Development

jebel@nctcog.org

office: 817-695-9255

fax: 817-640-9028

North Central Texas Council of Governments

PO Box 5888

Arlington, TX 76005-5888

ü Please consider the environment before printing this email.