The City of Dallas has a secret. You may know what it is, but most citizens in Dallas don’t. It’s a secret that no other city in Texas has (although Houston is trying), and it’s a secret shared by only a few forward thinking cities nationwide.
It is a secret that can have a big impact on the quality of all of our lives. And it’s a secret that I am prepared to expose.
The City is dedicated to the integration of bicycles into your daily live.
There, I’ve let the cat out of the bag. In a City that seems too often dedicated to more pavement and more highways as the solution to all civic ills, there is actually a human scale approach to transportation.
Shocking, isn’t it? In spite of hard times and hard cuts, Dallas maintains a comprehensive Bicycle Transportation Plan, a Bicycle Coordinator in the Department of Transportation (me), an expanding on-street Bicycle Route system (currently over 300 miles of signed routes), the state’s premier Hike ‘n Bike Trail (the very popular White Rock Creek Trail), and the vision to move forward dramatically to making Dallas one of the most “Bicycle Friendly” cities in America.
Just imagine for a minute a city where you can ride your bicycle to work instead of taking your car. Or riding your bike to do some light shopping in your neighborhood, or to visit friends.
By making our streets better suited to bicycles, by developing an extensive system of proven bike routes, and by encouraging business owners to install inexpensive bicycle parking facilities for customers and employees, we can make Dallas a more “livable” community. That’s what we mean by being “bicycle friendly”.
The heart of our effort is our Bike Route System. Developed by cyclists working with the Department of Transportation, our Bike Routes can take you anywhere you want to go in Dallas. You’ve probably seen the blue and white numbered signs, but didn’t know what they signified.
The numbers are modeled after the Interstate Highway System; in our case, two digit numbers indicate a north/south route, while three digits mean an east/west route. Because the routes wind about a bit, we put N, E, S, or W on them so you’ll know which ultimate direction you are heading.
Low-traffic residential and collector streets are utilized most often for routes, but sometimes we will use a multi-lane thoroughfare when it is the best way to get where you are going. As street improvements are made, all of our routes will be given wider outside lanes for easier accommodation of cyclists.
To help you find your way around the system, we have published a water-proof map booklet that is available at most bike shops for about $7. If you can’t locate a copy, call me at City Hall (670-4039), and I’ll get you a copy.
One of our most important projects this year is CycleDallas ’93, a family bicycle fair at White Rock Lake May 16. Bicycle Rodeos for the kids, introductions to Effective Cycling techniques for adults, maintenance demonstrations by local bike shops and presentations by different kinds of bicycle clubs are just a few of the activities. This event is a cooperative effort of the Greater Dallas Bicyclists, the City of Dallas and Advocate Community Newspapers. We hope you’ll bring the whole family out to Winfrey Point from noon to 6 p.m. for this free festival of bicycling. If it’s raining, the workshops will be held inside the pavilion.
I hope you can see that Dallas holds a lot of promise for cyclists. But it is only through the participation of citizens, cyclists, and bicycle clubs that these bicycle-friendly projects can occur. Give me a call at 670-4039. I might have some news for you.
