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| These Make it Clear that Cyclists May Ride in Either Lane. It was Always Legal, but not all Motorists Knew |
Another change is EXTENSIVE implementation of mostly well thought-out bicycle oriented features. For example, in the photo above, BOTH traffic lanes have sharrows and "may use full lane" signs. Fort Worth hasn't painted "sweet spot" indicators to show cyclists where to stop in order to trigger the signal, but things were otherwise beyond what one would expect in a place like Seattle. In addition, the former "bus lanes" are now bus/bike lanes. I made a video at the same spot I did my previous bus lane video, but that will have to wait for another post. Plus, bike racks are sprinkled around the area and they are GOOD racks. Most of the "Texas Star" racks are now gone. Unfortunately, so are the rugged ones at the TRE stations, but the new racks are almost certainly lower maintenance than the rugged ones.
All in all, I was quite pleased. Well, as long as I don't think about what Fort Worth has done about its plan outside this local area - which is nothing. But nothing is probably not all bad because the "lines on the map" in North Fort Worth shouldn't be translated into reality without the care and thought that has been put into the downtown facilities. Koski may not have done it all, but what he did has mostly been done well and he didn't push for the stupid stuff where it didn't make sense. With Betsy Price as Mayor, I expect to see Fort Worth continue to pull further ahead of Dallas and I think it will attract more cyclists - and mostly without cruddy and dangerous elements. Apparently, the panther has woken up when it comes to cycling...
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| Sign Alerts Cyclists Not to Ride Against Traffic on One-Way Street |
In what way has Ft Worth "pull[ed] further ahead of Dallas"? Dallas already has great bike racks all over downtown and has a 30 year head start implementing bike plans. We've got sharrows too!
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ReplyDeleteI've been to Dallas and I've been to Fort Worth. Fort Worth had a bike plan long before this new one. If I go to the closest Starbucks to Union Station, there is no bike rack. Not so for the equivalent in Fort Worth. I was very skeptical of the new FW plan, but they have calmed my fears and exceeded my hopes. Go there and see. I will do an update on Dallas soon. In short, I DO believe FW is pulling further ahead. It didn't appear in my post, but I might have inquired what the Mayor of Dallas does other than talk about bikes when queried? OTOH, the FW Mayor leads bike tours around the city. I think we are seeing the early stages of a complete mindset change to your west.
I would say too that the Mayor leading bike tours in the city makes the city look more bike friendly, IMHO.
ReplyDeleteFW used trucks to spray for mosquitoes - ground spraying.
On the other hand, Dallas used aerial spraying to control mosquitoes, and instructed residents to wash their cars, wash their patios, and animals water bowls, etc, during a acute water shortage.
Go figure!
Peace :)
Chandra, I am not a fan of the current spraying program mainly because I am not convinced it will be effective other than to allow politicians to claim they are doing something. To control mosquitos, one has to eliminate the standing water, which spraying is not good at doing. The right-wing talk hosts that ridicle spraying opponents do not seem to understand this. It seems ironic that these "small government" guys blindly accept what government tells them on this. The MSDS on the current spray is at:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.plymouthmosquito.com/Duet%20MSDS%20Sheet.pdf
The description of it as an "adulticide" says it all. As far as I know, nobody in government has mentioned any "larvicide" plans. In either locale...
I like that bicycle wrong way sign.
ReplyDeleteNeed some of them here.