Bike Denton

Have you ever been stuck at a red light that won’t change?  If so, there are a few Denton intersections that WILL change for bicycles now.  When fewer cyclists run red lights, there are fewer accidents, fewer scofflaws (which enhance negative stereotypes), and cyclists get a better sense that the system is accommodating them.  In towns all over the globe, inductive loop sensors are quite often adjusted too insensitive to detect bicycles and motorcycles.  That exact topic came up at last month’s Traffic Safety Commission meeting, and we hoped some improvements would come from that discussion.  Now we see some shiny new camera-detectors which should detect bikes and motorcycles.  These are the tall cameras sticking up from the mast, and sometimes on telephone poles.  These are not red light cameras, which would have to face backwards to get photos of license plates.  These cameras are our friends, and it feels so wonderful and accommodating to trigger a light on a bicycle.  Get out there and try it at these intersections:

1. Mulberry/Carroll: this light was legendary for not being triggered by bicycles.  Additionally, the green phase was impossibly short to ride across.  No more.  There are video cameras for all 4 approach directions that trigger for bikes.  The green phase seems longer, too.  Now we don’t have to play frogger at Sycamore/Carroll or run the red light at Mulberry.
2. Hickory/Welch: this intersection gets many cyclists heading to/from UNT, and the red light has been run for decades.  Now you can place a bicycle wheel just over the “T” shaped intersection of  inductive loop wires, preferably on the right edge of the loop, and the light will trigger.  We tested this several times and were ecstatic to see it change.  Hopefully the city will mark the “T” with this DOT logo that shows where to place a bicycle wheel.  We’ve seen these in Austin and other cities, and they work great to get cyclists in the proper trigger area.
3. Crescent/Carroll: just like the others, the signal cameras detect cyclists and change the light.  Tested.
4. Congress/Carroll: same here; we can see the cameras on the signal masts, but we didn’t test these.
5. Sycamore/Bell: This intersection by Rubber Gloves Rehearsal Studios and the coming A-train station has always been treacherous to cross.  Blind curve + 2 lanes of cars going ~35-40mph.  Now there’s a serious upgrade in progress, and we expect this intersection to get camera triggers too, especially since the Downtown Implementation plan recommends a bike route on Sycamore.

First, it was Blackhawk, Colorado’s extreme ban of cycling through the downtown, and now we see Bartonville, TX attempting to regulate cyclists off the roads with ordinance 494-10. While this debacle is pretty unrelated to most of our commuting-ish topics in Denton, the topic is still a black cloud for area cyclists and an embarrassing spectre amidst our national movement towards bike friendliness.

As seen in the DRC recently, the nearby town of Bartonville now requires a “rally permit” for groups of 10 or more cyclists, pedestrians, or even drivers to travel together on Bartonville roads.  According to this DRC article, “police have observed cyclists running stop signs, urinating behind Town Hall and riding more than two abreast and impeding traffic.”  It’s unclear how the enacted ordinance affects any of those complaints.

The ordinance text states that this regulation applies specifically to races and rallies:

• Race means a contest of speed, as in running, riding, or driving including training with 10 or more participants.

• Rally: A competition in which motorists, runners or bicyclists traverse public roads and/or right-of-ways under normal traffic regulations but with specified rules as to speed, time, and/or route, including training with 10 or more participants.

In response, the Bike Texas nonprofit is circulating a petition and gained at least 2,000 petitions against the Bartonville ban.   Led by Robin Stallings, the group opposes “all efforts by any government entity in Texas to pass laws or ordinances that selectively prohibit or constrain operation of a bicycle on Texas roadways.”

So how do cyclists deal with Bartonville?  Read on:

Most groups of riders form pods of nine or fewer riders and spread out as they approach Bartonville, he said. Meanwhile, bike groups are working on a long-term strategy to address the problem.

Marc Mumby, president of BikeDFW, said the group has been working to get the word out to cycling groups how important it is to follow the rules and “be nice,” even though it’s likely that the cyclists who cause problems don’t ride with local clubs.

They have been holding “interventions” near the town limits, Mumby said, handing out cards to cyclists to remind them of the rules of the road.

Cyclists can ride two abreast, but they cannot impede traffic. Both town officials and cyclists agree that Bartonville’s roads have blind hills and curves that make it challenging for vehicles to pass.

Bob Pinard of Infinity Cycling Club in Flower Mound said there’s a flaw in the logic of the new rule.

“Most of these problems they’ve described have nothing to do with the size of the group,” Pinard said, adding that riding two abreast makes it safer for everyone on the road.

As seen in the newspaper this week, Oncor is making headlines in Denton County over its defeated proposal to cut across the popular Greenbelt trail.  You can see the proposed routes here.

The newly formed Greenbelt Alliance pulled together some impressive muscle and turned out en masse at the county hearing to fight Oncor’s route across the Greenbelt.  It worked, and Oncor now has to consider other routes instead.

I’m admittedly a little confused how much of this is nearby landowner NIMBY and how much is actual fight to preserve the Greenbelt.  Just saying…these are murky waters.  I am also a bit amazed that a group is successfully fighting to keep a wind farm transmission line out of the entire county and not just the Greenbelt.  I can understand fighting to preserve the Greenbelt, but it seems a stretch to ban the power line from the whole county when at a time when gas wells are easily allowed.

To add some more context to Oncor’s activity in DFW, keep in mind that they’ve donated many easements to build the Preston Ridge, Northhaven, and Katy trails in North Dallas, and Oncor just pledged $1+ million to the Mayor’s Youth Fitness Initiative (read, keeping parks and rec centers open).

The part of this story that interests me most is this passage from the Oncor press release for Dallas:

Oncor is also developing a program that will create hike-and-bike trails along parts of the transmission right-of-way. This will be integral to helping improve the communities that Oncor serves. These trails can be a valuable contribution to the communities and the Mayor’s Youth Fitness Initiative and its programs.

This brings me to the one conclusion I have from this debacle: let’s hope that the Greenbelt Alliance keeps open communication with Oncor, because some future trails along easements would be a great asset to the extremely few trails we have here in Denton.  At a time when far more urban and suburban cities in DFW are literally kicking our butts at trail building, we can use all the help we can get.  Ever seen a map of bikable trails in DFW?  Ouch, Denton, ouch.

From today’s blotter:

A bicyclist told police a motorist struck him with his vehicle Saturday afternoon, knocking him off his bicycle, and dragging the bike for a short time as the motorist sped off.

The alleged hit-and-run incident, which occurred in the 600 block of Alice Street, started when the motorist yelled at the bicyclist, according to a police report. When the bicyclist made an obscene hand gesture in response, the motorist put his vehicle in reverse, backed down the street and hit the bicyclist, according to the report.

The bicyclist told police he couldn’t pedal fast enough to avoid getting struck by the vehicle, the report stated.

After the motorist struck the victim, the bicyclist tried to open the car door and stop the suspect, but he couldn’t get the door open, according to the report. The driver then sped off toward Egan Street, the report stated.

The bicyclist had a minor scrape on his leg and his bicycle’s back wheel was warped, according to the report.

Police are investigating the incident as a suspected aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

Does anyone know the make/model of the car, so we can look out for it?  I’m pleased that the police take this seriously enough to consider it assault with a deadly weapon, because that cyclist could’ve easily been killed.

If you know more detail, please email info@bikedenton.org and we’ll update this story.

After UNT announced plans to remove the Avenue C raised bike lanes, concerned citizens contacted UNT and the city, and the demolition was put on hold until recent weeks. Finally, we see that freshly painted sharrows and accompanying “Bicycle May Use Full Lanes” signs are up.  Since the city recently mentioned that Eagle could get bike lanes, this North/South route would tie-in nicely.  I ride this route often, and I can often sense impatient cars behind me, yet the road is not wide enough to allow comfortable/safe passing.  Hopefully these signs will show both drivers and cyclists that it’s ok to ride here.

Thanks to JW for the 2nd and 3rd photos:

From the FB event description:

Poster Party and Goldsprints!!!!
Fundraiser for the Livestrong Challenge.

Bikes and Posters!!
You like bikes. You like posters Come get some very limited edition prints from some great artists. All for a good cause. Then go race.
Some great prizes from Timbuk2 and Chrome will be given away.

Print show in the gallery
Featured artists are
Adam Turman
Strawberry Luna
Micheal Budai
Steve Millington
Mr Penfold
Angel Bomb
John Vogl
Surrender Art
Taylor McClure
Dan Springer
Yovanny Canales
Erik Anthony Hamline (Steady Print Shop Co.)
Aesthetic Apparatus
A few more to be named later.

Goldsprint rematch Between yours truly and Yovanny Canales.

Strøget before

Strøget after

We’ve all seen glorious photos of European cities with carfree plazas, pedestrians strolling and shopping, cyclists lazily riding along.  The most lauded of these towns is Copenhagen, and especially, its city center.  How does such a people-oriented place evolve?

From the first page of “Public Spaces Public Life“, by Jan Gehl:

When Strøget in Copenhagen was changed into a pedestrian street in 1962, it was after much debate and with considerable reservations.  If, at the time, anyone had predicted that the city center would have six times as many carfree areas 34 years later, and that car traffic and parking possibilities would be substantially reduced, it would have been met with a great deal of skepticism.  That life in the city center could flourish markedly would simply have been too unbelievable.

When skeptics tell you “that won’t work here” and “Europe has always been ped/bike friendly”, remember how Strøget became carfree and allowed pedestrian plazas and cycletracks to flourish in its wake.  There is vision that oversees intricate processes that lead to such a comprehensive change.

Today we can see that the city center has changed noticeably over only three decades from a car-oriented to a people-oriented city center. Considered in hindsight, this development has been possible simply because major changes have been introduced in small and well-planned stages.  After successful completion of one change, it has been possible to find understanding and support for the next.  This policy of taking many small steps has been implemented within the framework of one great vision.  Across political lines in Copenhagen’s municipal government, the special qualities of Copenhagen have been appreciated and the city transformed into a beautiful and human city at a pace which Copenhageners could accept.

The wikipedia entry gives a nice summary:

Strøget was created in November 1962 when cars were beginning to dominate Copenhagen’s old central streets. During the 1950s the street had closed to traffic for a couple of days at Christmas. In 1962 the closure was “half disguised” as an extended holiday closure, but the road has remained closed since. The idea was controversial, some people believing that the Danes did not have the mentality for “public life” envisioned by such a street, and many local merchants believed the move would scare away business.However it proved a success, and the area soon boasted more shoppers, cafes, and a renewed street life. Building on Strøget’s success, the network expanded piecemeal – another street and a few more squares were emptied of cars in 1968, and further closures took place in 1973, 1980, and 1992. From the initial 15,800 square metres of the Strøget, Copenhagen’s pedestrian network has expanded to about 100,000 square metres.

The underlying philosophy of this people-oriented change came from Jan Gehl’s holistic understanding of human behavior and its interrelation to planning, transit, and architecture.  This way of thinking extends far above prescriptive zoning rules and explicit traffic engineering design manuals.  It is an understanding of place, and how to preserve and enhance place.  The same rules should apply here in Denton.  As we once endeavored to bulldoze the historic downtown courthouse to build a parking lot, we now gravitate to it as a public space.  We preserved the courthouse, but how do we enhance it?  We should balance the transit modes.  Calm the area even more.  Make it the safest, most livable area in town, and grow that philosophy outward from there.  Every town needs a Strøget.