Tomorrow, I’ll write a followup article with detail on tonight’s city council bike plan hearing. For now, these three photos will do.
Safe Passing signs
In 2010, council member Dalton Gregory proposed the Safe Passing ordinance. In 2011, the council unanimously approved the ordinance. Pictured above is a new sign on W. Hickory to educate the public that cars must give 3 feet when passing, and trucks must give 6 feet. Since it protects far more than just people riding bikes, it’s called the “Vulnerable Road User” ordinance, and you can read about it in detail at the city website.
City Council to vote on Bike Plan next Tuesday 2/21
After years of work and growing momentum, Denton’s Bike Plan is finally going to city council next Tuesday for a vote. I’ll keep this short and say this is the time to show up and support the plan, if you want it to pass. Even if you think it’ll pass, simply showing up and filling out a comment card or speaking will add tremendous weight to the plan. Weight that will help get the ball rolling avoid the first-year delays that Dallas is fighting.
This is a landmark moment in Denton’s history, and your participation and pressure can keep this plan from collecting dust on a shelf. The plan already has $200k funding for the first year, and at least $50k for every year after that. Let’s get this plan approved so we can get to the real work, the paint on the ground.
See you at City Hall – 215 E. McKinney, next Tuesday, at 6:30PM.
Quakertown Park to get new paved paths
At last night’s city council meeting, the Consent Agenda (a bunch of stuff that passes with one vote, without discussion) included an item for “Pedestrian Trails and Sidewalk Improvements at the City of Denton Quakertown Park.” For $145,776, the city awarded a construction company contract to pour in this new network of concrete paths to connect all those formerly disparate parts of Quakertown Park. Currently, there is no paved path to navigate from the playground to city hall, or to the city pool, or to the civic center.
Given the proximity of hot-button agenda items like the gas-drilling moratorium, little items like this don’t get much attention. This improvement has been on the radar for some years, apparently, and just needed funding to see the light of day. It’s not big news, but it’s an incremental improvement that I think deserves a little shine. They’ll start construction in February and be done before Arts & Jazz, I bet.
Since the upcoming Bike Plan doesn’t prescribe a bike route from TWU to the train station/downtown, the new 8′ concrete shared path above could be a relaxed alternative to riding on Bell. Some traffic calming at nearby intersections would be a nice compliment to the park improvements, since so many people walk and bike to the park.
Biking woman thwarts child kidnap attempt
Saturday’s DRC police blotter reports that a biking woman riding thwarted a man’s attempt to kidnap a child on Cooper Creek Rd. I don’t know the details, but that is a popular route to ride up towards Lake Ray Roberts, the Greenbelt, and the Clear Creek Nature Preserve.
2700 block of Cooper Creek Road — A woman riding her bike Friday helped a teenage girl in distress, according to a Denton police report.
The woman said she helped the girl escape the driver of a pickup, who appeared to be trying to kidnap her, and took her to a nearby house to call police.
The girl told police that the bus drops her off at the corner and her brother usually picks her up from there, but he was running late so she decided to walk home.
The girl reported that as she was walking home a man exited the passenger door of the pickup and told her to stop. She said she then began to run away and the man chased her until the woman intervened.
It’s hard to say if riding a bike made a difference here, versus driving a car, but there’s no debating that you are more aware and connected to the immediate environment while riding bike. You’re usually traveling much slower and have more time to notice things. I’ve asked the Denton Police for more details, and if anyone knows the cyclist who protected the child, feel free to contact me at info@bikedenton.org.
couple locks
It’s not a couple of locks, it’s a couple’s locks.
Seen in front of Banter/SCRAP/Querencia.
Corinth trail beauty
I haven’t written much for BikeDenton lately, but I’m still riding around and taking photos. We’ve had some golden weather, and I’ve taken my own advice to get off the internet and ride a bike. As often as possible.
Just before the new year, I went out and explored the Corinth mountain bike trails on my CX bike, and I snapped these photos on the first section, just off the Denton Katy rail trail. It’s the least challenging section of the trails, but I really like the aesthetic. Creek, grazing horses and cows, barns, timber fence. The rest of the trail is twisty, as it has to be in such a small space, but it’s still fun to ride and easy enough that I’ve done it on wider road tires (32c). It’s the only real trail you can easily bike to from within Denton, and for that, I appreciate the hell out of it.
dress shoes and pedal straps
That’s right, two shoe posts in a row.
I ride with all kinds of different pedals and foot retention. I like the right tool for the job, and I don’t obsess about any one approach: SPD, platforms, clips, straps, powergrips. I found a new favorite combo this week: pedal straps + dress shoes. Velo City straps, Ecco shoes.
It. Just. Feels. So. Right.
Bike-specific clothes have their uses, but as I like to say:
Ride often, in normal clothes, to normal destinations. Replace even one car trip a week. Make it look fun and easy. Carry stuff.
Avocet vintage kicks
While out moving tools to Querencia’s new shop on the square today, I ran into a friend wearing these perfect Avocet M20 touring shoes.
No, she didn’t get them on ebay for $70, she got them at Denton Thrift for $4. Score!
Planning and Zoning board approves Bike Plan
Last night, Denton’s P&Z board voted 7-0 to approve the Bike Plan after spoken support from 7 year old Zarian (pictured above) and Amber Briggle, and supportive comment cards. Nobody opposed the plan.
The next and final stop for the Bike Plan is at city council in February, and that is the public’s last opportunity to give input and show support.
The turnout (for the Bike Plan agenda item) at last night’s meeting was low, but that’s unsurprising given the number of public Bike Plan meetings held since the effort started in 2009. It just seems easier to get turnout for something people are fighting against rather than fighting for. Also, a general lack of controversy might convey an impression that the Bike Plan has enough momentum to carry itself all the way through to fruition. Regardless, the final passage will have a celebratory element and I’d wager that turnout + passage = party.
Strangely, the P&Z chair (Jay Thomas) somehow neglected to read the citizen comment cards aloud, ignoring a standard public hearing protocol. The agenda discussion was also halted abruptly and put to a vote, while it was obvious some commissioners wanted to continue discussion. While the resulting vote was positive, the process was stunted.
Commissioner Devin Taylor pressed engineering staff to ask how the public would continue to give input on the plan (for route preferences, etc), and the staff replied that citizens can continue to email in suggestions. That’s a bit guarded, and I think resurrecting the Bike Plan Advisory Committee is more openly engaging of the public. An official 311 system for reporting street issues (amongst others) could also be of huge value to Denton. Austin has it, Dallas has it, Plano has it, and we could use it.
