Dallas City Flag at Dallas City Hall
In the Dallas Observer, there's a story about lost cycling opportunity. It's linked here. If you either like or dislike the Cycle*Dallas blog, you MUST read it. I don't agree with the subject of the article in all respects, but I'm glad I was privileged to meet him and get a chance to talk. It was a triple treat since Keri and Lisa B (both of CommuteOrlando fame) were also present for most of the discussion. It was even worth driving into downtown Dallas at rush hour (though I would not want to do THAT very often!). The article relates a local cycling history that directly ties into what is reviewed here (I'm not quite done with the book yet). It's a history that's still evolving.Dallas City Fathers and Mothers may never realize it, but Dallas has lost great cycling opportunity, through a failure to heed good advice and encourage its expansion. Its loss will affect all cyclists around DFW.
Quoting one who has exerted more influence on my cycling and attitude towards traffic than he can know: "simul justus et peccator." His sins have never been those of pushing meaningless or dangerous fluff at the cost of fundamentals.
Y'all have a Happy Thanksgiving. Don't burn the house down with the ol' turkey fryer!
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5 comments:
Thanks for the link to the Observer piece. In its cycling discussion the article points up the difficulties not only between the motorists and cyclists, but also between cyclists themselves.
Additionally (and perhaps more interestingly), the discussion of Summer's transfer from his post also points out a disturbing breach of the imagined separation of one's personal and professional lives--though this is a breach that folks with an online presence shouldn't be surprised by or naive about.
Well said Steve. If Dallas goes with a segregationist bike plan, it will indeed be an opportunity lost. I know all the contours of my own city and I have maximized its assets to get around quite well, but I sometimes long for the extensive of grid of pleasant streets that makes up the Dallas bike route system. I would also love to have the civility I found in North Texas drivers from Irving to Richardson to Dallas proper (next time I promise I'll get over to Fort Worth). I know that not all drivers there are civil, but I've never ridden in another place (not here, not California, not Portland Oregon) where I was not honked or yelled at a single time in a week of riding... especially using 6-lane arterial roads!
Happy Thanksgiving, Steve!
I'm sorry, but I'm not reading a six-part article about how great PM Summer is. What, exactly, is this "lost opportunity" you speak of? That PM was moved out of his position?
(also, your Cycle*Dallas link goes to the same Observer article as the first link does)
Doohickie,
The article isn't a lovefest for PM or Jason - at least I didn't get that.
It's more like an account of the recent history of Dallas Cycling. Where we were and where we're going. It's actually a good read for those who haven't been involved in advocacy for the past 10-20 years.
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