Hints From Hellowheeze

Dear Hellowheeze,

I see blue and white signs in Dallas that have a bicycle and a number on them. Are these bike routes? I saw some in my neighborhood, but I also saw some on a busy thoroughfare that's not safe for bikers. Please help me understand what these are for.

Sign me,

Unsure in Dallas

Dear Unsure,

Yes, those are wayfinding signs for the Dallas Bike Route System. Unlike the old-style bike route systems, this is a system that tells cyclists how to navigate around the city. The old-style bike routes systems, with the white on green signs that were popular in the 1970s (and still are today in some places), were meant to designate pleasant streets to ride bicycles on for recreation and fun. They were usually loops through quiet neighborhoods and around parks.

The system you see in Dallas is designed to show connections across the city as part of the transportation grid. Although selected by cyclists utilizing lower volume streets whenever possible (about 80% of the system), they don't necessarily imply a low volume street. In some cases, thoroughfares are used as routes because that's the only way to make the necessary connections across major obstacles. There is never any implication of a route being "safe", as "safety" is dependent upon too many variables, and means different things to different people.

While most people consider bike paths to be safer than streets, your chances of suffering a serious injury are three times higher on paths and trails than on local streets. I bring this up because "safety" is a term that is highly relative, and has more to do with the bicyclist than the facility, and that's why we don't use "skill level" or "safety level" ratings for our route system. The determination is too subjective, and can be misleading.

The purpose of the route system is to show cyclists a good way to get around and across town via bicycles as selected by other cyclists familiar with that area. Conditions do change, and at times and in places, other streets may be more more appropriate than the ones designated as bike routes. In major cases, the route system has been modified, and will continuing being modified, as conditions continue to change. This approach is an organic and dynamic one, as opposed to a static system. By adjusting your course, you can make every bike route your own personalized bike route, as it fits your needs.

Sincerely yours,

Hellowheeze