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.
