Ocean Shores Kind of Place

Ocean Shores is a "different" sort of place. There's really no employment base other than the local government and businesses that cater to tourists during the summer. The most notable movie that featured Ocean Shores was "Safety Not Guaranteed." That low budget movie featured an eccentric time traveller - and our tiny local library has TWO copies. My favorite Ocean Shores book is entitled "The Ocean Shores Tourist Killer." It was written by the former editor of our local (what passes for) weekly newspaper. The library used to have a copy but they got rid of it. Apparently too many people checked it out.

My own favorite video on Ocean Shores is below. The phone booths at 1:50 are now where the IGA bike rack is. In that post, here, you can still see the conduit that used to power the phone booths. At the start of the video, you'll see that the sign provides directions to the "Unused Airport" and the "Former Library." The first remains the case. I've never seen such an overbuilt airport with so little traffic. It is amazing so much tax money has been spent on it. The city justifies it as "federal funding," but last time I checked, the Feds used tax money as well. My own suggestion for a cost saving was not well received (I suggested paying a limosine to sit at the nearby Hoquiam Airport on a 24/7 basis to provide free transport for anybody landing there that really wanted to go to Ocean Shores). As for the "Former Library," well, the City Council closed it until they realized that the local schools have no libraries and it was the only place students could check out books. Now it is funded by levies. More on that some other time.

And, before you think to ask, NO I'm not Checker Steve and I had nothing to do with the writing or singing of the song. I DID hear about it while visiting the local espresso stand, however.

Moderation EVEN in Portland

I Count TWELVE Bike Racks at this Portland, Oregon Ikea Store. Thank Goodness for iPhone "Panorama" Photo Mode!

Seen at the Ikea Store, adjacent to Portland International Airport. Count the number of BIKE RACKS in the photo at the top of this post. This is a store that isn't easy to access by bicycle, and few of its items lend themselves to being carried home by bike. I suspect this is in excess of even Portland's municipal code requirements.

We recently bought a bed at the Grand Prairie, Texas Ikea and it took all our Subaru could carry to get it home. The Grand Prairie didn't have any bike racks out front that I was able to notice. OTOH, if you want to buy a set of new living room furniture and bring it home by bike, might need a lot of cycling friends, though I suspect that if you brought along a dozen or more friends, at least one would be willing to watch the bikes. Perhaps the Portland Ikea would be willing to donate one of their racks to their Texas counterparts?

Register Them All?

Justine Valinotti, in Mid-Life Cycling, here, talks about bicycle registration. That got me thinking . As when it came to licensing, I pondered things from the viewpoint of someone that likes to take a "small government" approach, as well as someone that might want to recover his own bicycle if it were to be stolen sometime in the future. Accordingly, I started to look into things. This is PART 1 of the ugly story about bicycle registration.

For bicycle registration to be effective, two things need to happen. First, you need to register your bike. Second, the police in the jurisdiction where your stolen bike is recovered need to use the service you registered with. So far, this is entirely consistent with "small government" since you'll note that I've not suggested that anybody set up some sort of government regulations or whatever. In fact, there ARE national registries for bicycles in the US. While the Bike League is silent on the topic, Seattle's Cascade Bicycle Club has a page, here, where they attempt to shut the door after the horse has left the barn. I use that analogy since most people won't have their registration number in the databases and an already stolen bike is not available to copy that vital identification number down.

When it comes to the police, the "National Bike Registry" has a list of law enforcement agencies that use (maybe) their database. It can be seen here. Bike Index also has a list of "Partners," but Index law enforcement partners are rare, with Los Angeles PD, Berkely, and Saint Louis being the only major participants. It isn't hard to see why - the Index web site doesn't seem oriented towards getting the police on board and they have no provisions for police to actually sign up. Their organization sign up page is here. Looking at places me and my loyal reader frequent gives the following NBR results. Places I frequently ride are in bold italic.

Participating Law Enforcement Agencies

• United Kingdom - all police agencies and register via the registration site; here
• Phoenix and Tucson - So at least the agency Justine refers to participates
• Fort Collins, Denver and Summit County in Colorado
• Winter Park and Florida Highway Patrol in Florida
• Atlanta and Roswell in Georgia
• Honolulu in Hawaii - I don't know if they transferred their old bicycle licenses to NBR or not
• Boston, Cambridge and Somerville in Massachusetts
• Santa Fe and Santa Rosa, NM
• At least a half dozen New York City PD Precincts and the New York State Police
• Ontario Provincial Police
• Portland, Salem, and Oregon State Police
• Austin, Denton, Euless, Plano,  Tarrant County Sheriff, and Wichita Falls in Texas
• Hoquiam, Olympia, Seattle,

Not Listed as Participants

• Breckenridge, Colorado so my little sister is probably out of luck unless the sheriff recovers her bike
• Springfield, Missouri and MSU, so Andy ought to be careful
• Los Alamos and Tucumcari, NM
• Dayton, Ohio (home of the Wright Brothers; bicycle manufacturers)
• Tulsa, OK
• No local jurisdictions listed in Ontario
• Bedford, Colleyville, Dallas, Ennis, Fort Worth, Hurst, Irving, and Southlake, Texas
• Aberdeen, Everett, Ocean Shores, Tacoma, and Washington State Police in WA

Hmm, looks like places I ride the most are mostly non participants by a 7 to 2 ratio. I may need to make some quiet inquiries to see what happens when these 7 recover stolen bikes. I imagine that if they recover a bike reported stolen they'll send it own home, but what if the bike was reported stolen in another jurisdiction? As an example, while my Texas house is in Colleyville, Bedford and Euless are both only blocks away. There are hundreds of cities and towns around DFW. Stay tuned for future developments.

No Dogs or Bicycles Allowed

Dogs and Bicycles are Banned from the Wooden Boardwalks in Yellowstone Park

I notice things related to both dogs and bicycles more than a lot of people that don't own dogs or ride bicycles. Recently, we passed through Yellowstone National Park. My loyal reader may know that it is the World's first National Park. It was created under US Grant and was largely protected under the leadership of Theodore Roosevelt. My reader might also know that many hot springs are accessed via wooden boardwalks that pass over the hot and unstable ground. Dogs and bicycles are prohibited from these boardwalks.

I suspect that bicycles are prohibited in order to keep people from riding on the sometimes slick boardwalks. Bike racks are provided, such as the one shown below.

Bike Racks are Provided for Bicycles. Locks Not Provided.

It might not be quite so clear why dogs are also prohibited; particularly those on leashes. Well, dogs have been known to lunge at passing people and it'd be pretty gruesome if a passerby fell into a hot spring while trying to avoid that aggressive dog. My own theory is that dogs are banned in order to protect water dogs such as Labrador Retrievers such as my own. He's been know to leap off docks into unknown waters, and even sometimes when on a leash. I'd hate to see Fergus jump off a boardwalk into one of those clear but nearly boiling springs. Some prohibitions just make sense.

I'd Hate to Imagine a Dog after Extraction from an Inviting-Looking, but Nearly Boiling Spring

Battle of Cars

Readers that have ever perused the comments on pretty much any news article about bicycles has seen sentiments similar to “in the battle between cars and bikes, the cars always win.” Presumably, that gives some superior right to the road to those cars. Actually, more accurately, it gives superior rights to the operators of those cars. These commenters clearly have not thought things through very thoroughly, since in any battle between a car and an 18 wheeler, the car is always going to lose, just as it would if going into battle against an M1A1 Abrams Tank. Mostly, they forget that the roads are for all users. Not merely the fast (like Jaguars) or big (like giant trucks).

Moss Shadow of the Dear Departed Post Office Bike Rack

Earlier this week, I saw the outcome of a battle between a Toyota Camry and the Ocean Shores Post Office. The Camry, after jumping the curb and colliding with the slow-moving building, clearly was the loser, though the Post Office suffered significant damage as well. The BIG losers, as is sometimes the case when motorists lose control, are cyclists. You see, before hitting the post office, the Toyota completely obliterated the bike rack in front of the post office. It was not a very good bike rack – the wheel bender type. Had it been a solid “wave” rack, it might have saved the PO from thousands in damage. I have never used the rack, instead either parking my bike in the lobby, wheeling it inside, or simply parking it next to the entrance. I’ve never seen anybody else use the rack either. As an aside, while I didn’t meet the Camry owner, the car had a handicap placard. I was told that the driver had no license or insurance, though I have no way to confirm that. Tell THAT to commenters that want to require cyclists to get licenses and insurance even though they represent only a tiny danger to other road users.

                                                                                          

View of How Far the Toyota Made it Into the Post Office

Still, as I left the PO, I was unable to resist commenting – “I’m sure glad I didn’t have my bike parked at THAT rack!” The next morning, when I came back to take photos for this post, I also noticed a bit of motorist humor had been added to the carnage in the form of a note, complete with a smiley.

Proof that Even Motorists Have a Sense of Humor!

PS: The thought just occurred to me that when the Toyota as starting up, the safest place to be riding a bike was in the parking lot, right BEHIND the Toyota. Rantwick's mom would not be pleased...

Even Ocean Shores Makes Bike Progress

Brand New Bike Rack at the OS IGA - Not the Greatest Rack or Location, but Securely Installed

Ocean Shores is an odd place. It's got odd ideas about bicycles, with benighted ordinances such as I recounted HERE. Despite my worries, I have not heard of the police tasering a six year-old girl for riding her bike on a local sidewalk and I've not been cited for violating the "extreme right" definition. Some local businesses similarly "just don't get it." One example was recounted HERE. I avoid patronizing such clueless spots. However, today's post is about neither sort of Ocean Shores oddity, but of two businesses that deserve a shout out. One case took a lot longer than I might have expected, and I might have pushed just a tad in the other,  but progress is being made even in Ocean Shores. Perhaps one day we'll even have a bike rack at City Hall!

EXAMPLE 1     The first example is our local IGA grocery store. As I recounted HERE, I was told by a store worker that "they" were the reason the store had no bike rack. However, the store manager told me in his email that they were ordering a rack. This was back in May. Apparently, the bike rack was ordered for delivery via covered wagon because the rack finally got installed week before last. It was a classic "wheel bender" rack that was placed closer to the building than optimum and as far from the front door as possible, but it provides a place for people to lock their bikes that is under the cover of the front roof. That is an advantage that my preferred location of locking to the shopping cart rack does not possess. It was also securely installed, unlike the "pretty" racks at the Colleyville City Center I recounted HERE. Kudos to IGA! My mom was shocked since she'd been asking for a bike rack at the IGA for several years.



EXAMPLE 2     The second example is our local McDonald's. Honestly, I don't go to McDonald's very often, but for some reason I did so yesterday. For much the same reasons as motorists (convenience), I used the drive-thru. Unlike my previous experience with the drive-thru, recounted HERE, I knew to look for an induction sensor which I had no trouble triggering with my bike. LIKE my previous experience, I was told that McDonald's does NOT allow cyclists to use the drive-thru. At least this time, they took and gave me my order.

Well, long-term readers of this blog know that I get GRUMPY about such things, as noted HERE. So, I rode home, printed off the email I received from the store owner (thank goodness I asked for and received one - phone calls leave no records!).

Well, the employee read the email but argued that it meant they should only serve people on 4-wheeled bikes. We didn't discuss how 2-wheel bikes were somehow less deserving of service than people on horses. After a brief stand-off, I suggested we resolve the question simply by calling the store owner, whose phone number was on the email. Almost surprisingly, the employee (a shift supervisor) agreed. During all this, I was worried that the worker bees' eyes were going to pop out, despite the civility of our talk.

To make a long story short, my bike is once again welcome at the Ocean Shores McDonald's and the shift supervisor sent an email to that effect to all the other store management.

Today, I took the "customer survey" and it is reproduced below.

Car Crazy in New Orleans

I'm really not sure how to characterize cycling in New Orleans. Unlike newer southern cities, there's a lot of it going on. It has its fair share of brain-damaged, door zone bike lanes, one of which makes a star appearance in one of this post's videos. The standard of how people ride is generally no better than elsewhere, with wrong-way sidewalk riding abounding, even when bad bike lanes adjoin the sidewalk.

Today, however, I'm going to talk about a small subset of cycling and car culture in New Orleans, namely the French Quarter. The French Quarter was the original part of New Orleans and was mostly built up in the 17th and 18th centuries. After the Americans came around, it expanded greatly, with places like the Garden District.

Sharrows seem to be the fashion statement as you enter the French Quarter. Note that there is car parking on both sides of the street.

One thing that really struck me was the way bicycles were attached to just about anything that made sense, and that cars were parked everywhere. I do not recall, however, a single purpose-built bike rack. What's more, almost all of the car parking was paid parking, even on the street. There were some private lots, and parking there was about $10 for two hours. Doing a little math, with on-street parking costing $1.50 per hour and five or six bikes (average) in a car parking spot, the city would have to charge about a quarter an hour to break even. Can anyone say "bike share?"

There did appear to sort of be a designated bike route of some sort, though I saw no evidence that any of the local cyclists paid any mind to it. Given a sign on the same street, I don't imagine cyclist safety was a high priority in route selection.

Crescent Corridor Sign

In the area around Jackson Square, bicycles were not so welcome. In the Square itself, I'm not sure a person walking a bike would be allowed. Even dogs are forbidden and you might be tasered for feeding a bird.

Despite all this, the French Quarter shows why people ride their bikes everywhere in places like the Netherlands, and why I entitled this post "car crazy in New Orleans." As you may see from the photo below, the purple zone is the French Quarter and there are cars parked all the way along almost every street. What's more, as the videos show, there are cars parked in the traffic lanes of many of the streets.

Four Blocks Stroll from a Parking Garage to the middle of the French Quarter

Now, for notes on the videos. In the first one, shot on Decatur Street on the side with a bike lane, you see a pair of people using the bike lane. While I'm not sure the bike lane does any more than make people feel better about passing on the right, it IS the fastest route along the street. Later in the video, you'll see a guy come the wrong way down the bike lane. Right before he appears, the traffic signals turn red so he's actually riding through a red light on the wrong side of the road. Still, he doesn't appear to be in overly much danger. The first video is 27 seconds long. The light turns red about ten seconds in and the "Gulf Salmon" shows up about 5 seconds later.

In the second video, you can see how the lack of a bike lane distorts things. That skateboarder would have not been allowed had a bike lane been present, and the SUV would not have tried to make a U turn either. BTW, as I recall, someone making a U turn is supposed to yield to all other road users. The second video is 29 seconds long. Originally, the skateboarder was one clip and the SUV was another until I merged them together. You can tell from the music that they were shot one after another.

IMO, this location almost CRIES to be a "nearly motor vehicle free" zone. Sure, delivery trucks need windows to deliver. There are people who have garages on private property who should be accommodated, and parking garages would have to be erected to get all those cars OFF the French Quarter street, but we need to give all those high-falutin' urban planners SOME sort of challenge. Heck, maybe they could put in some streetcars with all those parked cars gone and a bike lane would take on a WHOLE new meaning. How, one might ask, do you protect cyclists from pedestrians? I guess that's one reason they mostly ride slow in Dutch cities...

Looking East along Decatur Street

Looking West along Decatur Street

Waves of Change

Bike Rack at Front of Everett Main Library

Lest we forget how things change, ten years ago the Everett Washington Library had no bike rack that I know of. Now, among others, there's an "artsy fartsy" wave rack right out front. Perhaps there's hope for decent bike parking in Ocean Shores Washington and for North Texas yet.

Two Steps Forward and One Back

Toto, I Think We're in Kansas! Jaguar en Route from Texas

It seems things go “two steps forward and one step back.” Such has been the case in Ocean Shores lately. We recently drove up from Texas with one of the Jaguars in tow. Step forward.

I’ve also been riding more each week than I was able to do in the previous five months. It doesn’t even hurt very much. Second step forward.

Coming Home. The Jaguar Offloads from the Trailer

A new restaurant opened up this week in a location formerly occupied by an EXCELLENT taco stand. They went to the trouble of taking OUT a bike rack that didn’t impinge on motorist parking at all. Luckily, I'm not sure I would have been likely to become a patron even had they left the bike rack unmolested. Stay tuned for a future inquiry. What’s more, the Ocean Shores Farmer Market has been relocated from its attractive location at the library to the far end of a giant gravel parking lot. Apparently the motoring public wasn’t happy with the amount of parking. Myself, my enthusiasm for the local farmer market is lessened when I have to ride past the local IGA and across a giant gravel parking lot to pay quite a bit more for produce than I did last year. One step back…


Despite the Loss of a Bike Rack, Many People Cycled to the Ocean Shores "Woofathon" Last Weekend

Bike Parking at DFW Airport

It is Illegal to Ride Your Bike DIRECTLY to the Terminal - UNLESS You are Strong and Very Fast! From Google Maps
It Doesn't Help that All Exits are Off the Left Side of the Road

Since airlines have us travelling lighter recently by means of charging us to bring along "excess" luggage, bicycles and/or transit have become a possibility for those of us that travel by air. The TRE commuter rail comes fairly close to the airport from those living in either Fort Worth or Dallas. Just make sure you don't travel on a Sunday since the TRE takes Sundays off. If you are coming from Dallas and points east, there IS a DART bus (Route 408) that runs to the Remote South parking lot. Soon, there'll be light rail that you MAY be able to bring your bike on. We'll know after it starts up - partly it'll depend on where you get dropped off and what security decides.



TRE Centreport Has a Shuttle to Remote South. Remote South is as Close to the Terminal as You Can Get With a Bike

What's more, despite complete ignoring of bikes by DFW Airport and places that COULD provide low cost, secure bike parking, people DO ride their bikes to the airport. I suspect these are mostly people that work at the airport, though some of the bikes are a lot nicer than I'd want to leave at an airport remote lot. Definitely Remote South is where most cyclists park. They park at the "official parking lot fence for bikes since we don't really think about people that come here by bike" place.

Bicycle Parking Facilities at DFW Airport - Remote South
You'll Note the Motorcycle Parks Inside the Fence With the Other Motorists

Remote South Bike Parking Looking North Toward the Airport

What would I recommend for LONG TERM bike parking? Well, if I had to do it, I'd park at Bell Helicopter (a known, fairly secure place for bikes to park) or at another secure location within walking distance of the TRE (either Hurst Station or Centreport). Then I'd take the TRE and the shuttle in to the terminal. If I were just going for the day, I'd lock up at Remote South and take that shuttle in. Neither DART option would help me at all since DART only works for those coming from Dallas County, "Where the East Begins!"

If I were going to do it more frequently, I'd see if I couldn't cut a deal with one of the nearby hotels. Keep in mind that it only costs $25 for me to get from home to the DFW Airport by taxi.
 

Local Observations

Ace Shortly Before the Lawnmowers Come Out

I’ve been back down in the DFW Metroplex for a bit and I’ll have some observations from there pretty soon. However, things being freshly back in Ocean Shores, Washington, some OTHER things stand out. First off, the daily “putting out of the lawn mowers” at the local Ace Hardware. Second, I noticed that not ONLY does the local McDonalds have a real, proper bike rack that even PM Summer would approve of, but they also have a SKATEBOARD rack. I’m not sure what design standards should be for skateboard racks, but people actually use the one at McDonalds. Nearby, they have a sign saying “No Skateboarding.” That, IMO, is a big step up from the Colleyville equivalent that simply says “No Skateboards.” FWIW, I'm not sure WHAT the rings on the skateboard rack are supposed to do other than maybe they provide some sort of locking advantage. I'm not up to speed on proper skateboard locking technique.

Ace as the First Lawnmowers are Brought Out for the Day's Consideration

Skateboard Parking Rack at the Ocean Shores McDonalds

To wrap things up, I thought I’d add a shot of the most direct route from our house to the community club. This “street” is known as “Draconis.” AKA pole line road. Quite bikeable with Frankenbike, though Kermit seems to feel a need to speak out along the way.

Draconis Road - Bike/Ped Shortest Route to the OS Community Club

Sad Lonely Bikes

United Spirit Arena in Lubbock

Show 'Em Your Six Guns!

Last week, as in many other places around the US, Texas Tech University graduated their Senior Class and began summer vacation. We were proud that one of my daughters was amongst the graduates. She'd been seen on this blog, such as here and here.



Mongoose Bike Had Two Flat Tires and a Cheap Lock
The Saddle Was Worse than it Looks

Still, there was a note of sadness amongst the well-deserved happiness. That was for the poor, sad, lonely unloved bikes that were left behind by students leaving for summer vacation. Some of these bikes were "Wally World" style bikes, but some were worthy of respect.

By the time we left, I was almost wishing I'd brought along some lock breaking tools, but felt better after my daughter told me that the TTU police would cut the locks and donate the bikes. I wish them a little more love in the future.

This Bike Had No Lock at All - It'd Been "Straightened Up" at the Rack by a Sympathetic Passerby



Perhaps Saddest Was this Trek with the Rim Strip Failed on the Front Tire
The Bike is the Same Model My Daughter Has.
It Had a U Lock Around the Frame but the Wheels Were Unsecured
The Bike at Left "Appears" to be Locked but Wasn't

Unintended Cycling Effects

Handicap Signs Make Nice Short-Term Bike Parking. Thanks, ADA!

One problem with the large, complex laws that seem to come out with ever-greater frequency from our Congress is that unexpected things happen. HERE, I noted that the very first effect I saw from the Health Care Reform Law came from a little item stuck back on page 1239. We lost the showers that were perfect for cycling commuters. Certainly that was unintended, though it was also very real.



Showers for Cyclists - Added by
ADA - Taken by Obamacare!

Actually, that was not really an unintended effect, strictly speaking. It was an unintended modification of an unintended effect. Which brings us to the story of this post. You see, our wonderful bike commuter showers were a very nice consequence of a previous attempt to solve a real problem with complex legislation. The legislation was, I was recently surprised to learn, an attempt to extend protection to the disabled similar to that afforded by the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The ADA was passed and signed into law by George W Bush's dad. An amendment was later passed in 2008 and signed into law by George HW Bush's son. Both events were an example, all too rare recently, of bipartisan cooperation since both bills were passed by a Democratic Congress and signed by a Republican President.

Well, to make a long story short, besides the bike commuter shower, the photos that accompany this post show two more unintended effects of the ADA that affect people on bikes. The one at top has little downside for cyclists. Those handicap parking signs provide supplemental short-term bike parking. I wouldn't trust most of these to stand up long to a determined thief, but they are great for a short coffee stop. The wheelchair ramp makes them even more convenient for a thirsty cyclist.

The second effect is more mixed. When I was a kid, men were men, women were women, and corners were corners. Nowadays, the first two are still true, but corners have virtually disappeared from our sidewalks. Now we have ramps. These are less clearly a good thing for cyclists. Clearly it can be nice to have added choices when you are getting off the road at the corner deli, and if you have a heavily loaded bike you are walking because you have a flat tire, they can be WONDERFUL, but such features not only encourage sidewalk riding, but they make it temptingly easy for sidewalk riders to simply SHOOT across the street compared to the corners of old. I see such behavior often. Whatever the drafters of the ADA had in mind, I don't expect that encouraging wrong-way sidewalk riding without slowing down for intersections was on the list? Anybody else know of unintended effects of major laws that affect cyclists. No fair citing laws where cyclists are specifically intended as targets or beneficiaries. We're talking accidental (no pun intended) effects.

Handicap Corners Help Get That Crippled Bike up Over the Corner. Thanks, ADA!

Handicap Ramps Encourage Sidewalk Cyclists NOT to "Stop, Look, and Listen." Hmm, ADA!

Moving Up

It wasn't a lot beyond much that I've seen before. A business that didn't consider bikes in any way, shape, or form.

While I remain determined NOT to become a bicycle advocate, I asked if they had plans to put a bike rack in. Hearing nothing encouraging, I'll not be coming here again.
I didn't get the guy's name.

I forgot to mention that the scene immediately outside, shown below, prompted my initial inquiry. Perhaps a customer, perhaps a worker.

Bike Friendly Seattle

Bike Rack - AND Smoking Area at SeaTac Airport

At the beginning of July, I was up in Seattle. While there, I noticed that there is now a bike rack at SeaTac Airport. It's co-located with the only remaining place to smoke at SeaTac. Are they trying to send cyclists a message - or smokers?

All I know is that I'd be a little miffed if I came back to my bike at the SeaTac bike rack, to find a cigarette burn on my saddle or paint. ON THE OTHER HAND, if I were riding to SeaTac and wanted to smoke as I locked up or unlocked my bike, what more could I want? Bike Friendly indeed!

Fort Worth Infrastructure We Can ALL Use

For your consideration, it looks as if Fort Worth has come into some cash to put in bike racks. I have no idea what this money has to do with the Department of Energy, but there you have it.

Click on Photo for Larger Map. The Blue Circles are Existing Racks
Unlike the Fort Worth Bike Plan, Maybe the City is Really Looking for Input Here
instead of uncritical praise!

------------------
From: McCleeary, Julia
Subject: Where do you need a bike rack in Downtown Fort Worth?

Voice your opinion on bike rack locations in downtown Fort Worth!

The City of Fort Worth is installing bike racks in downtown Fort Worth, thanks to a grant from the Department of Energy. The website below is a google-based map showing the existing locations of bike racks and locations we have proposed. We will be installing black “inverted u” bike racks (link below for image).

Bike Rack Locations Map
Bike Rack Design

In order to comment or add markers to the map, a google account is required. However, feel free to email your downtown bike rack locations to bikefw at fortworthgov dot org. Instructions on adding or editing information to the map are located at the google map website.

Please feel free to forward this email on to anyone who rides (or would like to ride) their bike downtown.

Bike Fort Worth is the City’s comprehensive bicycle transportation plan for developing a friendlier bicycle environment. Recommendations for supportive policies, programs and facilities are intended to increase bicycle transportation within the City of Fort Worth.

Implementation of the Bike Fort Worth plan will promote bicycling as a safe, attractive and healthy transportation alternative. A bicycle transportation network will improve livability in Fort Worth by providing an alternative travel option to residents of the City and improved access to other modes of transit.

As a first step to the implementation of the Bike Fort Worth plan, the City of Fort Worth has received, as part of a larger award, $400,000 from the Department of Energy’s Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant Program for the construction of on-street bicycle lanes, routes and bicycle racks.

Julia M. McCleeary
Senior Planner
City of Fort Worth
Planning and Development