(Tintype photographs by David Sokosh for The New York Times; photographed on Governors Island, New York)
We’ve had over 130 confirm attendance for the Tweed Ride via Facebook and another 160 say they might be attending! We typically have even more show up than just those who confirm from our events listings, so it looks like we’re going to have a pretty huge turnout. Remember, all are welcome, if you dress up or not, and we’re planning on taking a large group photo on the steps of the new UNT Law School across the street from the Main Street Garden Park. We also have had several members of the press who have committed to riding, so it should be a lot of fun.
To get you more inspired for the ride, NPR did a story on Monday on Washington D.C.’s Tweed Ride here.
Also, the NY Times ran a piece in their Style section here.
There should be a lot of international people downtown as November 22nd is also the 46th anniversary of the JFK assassination, so be prepared for a mob of people on the grassy knoll.
And for those still looking for outfit ideas, we’ve been told that Ahab Bowen, Tara to the T, the House of MacGregor, Zola’s Everday Vintage, Target, and Urban Outfitters have some great finds right now. See you all Sunday!
There’s a new advocacy group up the road, and they’ve modeled themselves after us! If you live in Richardson, take note of these guys. As we’ve mentioned recently, Richardson has a very progressive planner on staff, and has been hard at work implementing bike lanes. Combine this with the fact that they’re home to a great University, there should be quite a bit of traction for commuter bicycling to take hold.
They’re holding a kickoff ride on Black Friday, November 27th, so take note and head out and help support the cause!
(Santiago Calatrava standing next to a model of the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge in Dallas. Photo by Daniel Driensky)
The DJC in Oregon posted an article yesterday comparing Vancouver’s bridges with Portland’s, and the effect these structures have on their communitys’ livability. Since the Trinity Trust has hired Vancouver’s planner, Larry Beasley, this is a timely conversation for us, as we are about to open our newest suspension bridge connecting West Dallas to Downtown.
(Burrard Street Bridge, Vancouver)
An important factor to note, when studying livable cities, is that the planners in these areas do not consider congestion a problem…they welcome it. These planners have found that the reality is congestion is a direct contributor to slowing streets and making communities more walkable. The widening of roads to speed vehicle traffic has shown to have a detrimental effect on surrounding neighborhoods and the life that surrounds them. We know this first hand when comparing a road like McKinney Avenue, to Fort Worth Avenue. One has four lanes, a trolley and wide sidewalks, while the other has 6 lanes, and small sidewalks. One area is built to minimize congestion, the other is not. Obviously, of the two, people would much rather sit at a cafe table alongside the congested street. Small Businesses would rather setup shop here as well, as they bring greater foot traffic, and are more appealing aesthetically. People also prefer to live closer to streets that are not high speed thoroughfares. McKinney Avenue is not only safer to cross due to the thinner streets, but also has a heightened perception of safety due to the number of eyes on the street. One could be used on a postcard, the other is sterile, gray, and cold.
More from the article:
“…Gordon Price, director of the City Program at Simon Fraser University and a former longtime Vancouver, B.C., city councilor, is glad to have a narrow, three-lane Lions Gate Bridge. “The conclusion I’ve drawn from looking at the history is that it’s one of the reasons we are one of the most livable cities in the world,” Price said, “on both sides of the inlet.”
Vancouver and its northern suburbs had a chance to see whether maintaining the size of the crossing would lead to increased congestion and a worse economy. “The answer, apparently, is no,” Price said. “If it were true that congestion would lead to an economic decline, you wouldn’t have the affluent area on one side and a vibrant urban area on the other.”
In any community, Price said, residents need clarity on transportation-planning decisions that determine where people live, where they work and how they commute. In Vancouver, people know there won’t be a new Burrard Inlet crossing.
“We said, ‘That’s OK; we will live with the existing capacity,’ ” Price said. “Once it became clear that wouldn’t change (and) we wouldn’t be overruled by the provincial and federal governments, then we took the other (transportation) options seriously and started to design cities to be walkable, to have more transit, and to be more bicycle friendly.””
(Vancouver)
According to this World Architecture News article, the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge in Dallas was designed to “not only create a new icon for the city’s skyline, but will also pump life back into the Trinity River.” Life or cars? Two very different concepts. The article goes on to state that “the structure will cross the Trinity River Corridor linking West Dallas/North Oak Cliff with the downtown area. At a length of 418.5m and a width of 36.7m the bridge carries 6 lanes of traffic across the water.”
Six lanes of traffic, which will then open up to another 6 lanes of traffic on the new Singleton Boulevard? Again, what are our aims? To create a highway, or a boulevard? What models are we seeking to replicate, and what is the end goal? If this is truly a signature bridge, it should have wide bike and pedestrian lanes, and streetcar rail that allows access into the park and along the boulevard. Otherwise, we’ll have 6 dedicated lanes to cars, which we’ll then need to build giant parking structures or worse, sprawling lots, to accommodate the traffic. This is not a livable approach to infrastructure development. We’re simply accommodating cars only, so we should expect another sterile, gray, and cold environment.
After much toil, we’ve finally struck upon a splendid route for Sunday’s Tweed Ride. Given the regal nature of our attire, we felt a fitting ride must include stops at our fair city’s dandy new art structures. We’ll set off from the Grassy Knoll and make haste along Ross Avenue, naturally passing the Dallas Museum of Art, the stately new Winspear Opera House, and the majestic Wyly Theatre. After taking in these most impressive edifices, we’ll jauntilly pedal by the new Main Street Garden Park, the much heralded Neiman’s Christmas window displays, then pass our lovely old Red Courthouse. We’ll then set off for the Left Banke of Dallas, crossing the old guvnor himself, the Houston Street Viaduct. Once across, hold on to your pipes as we mount a minor hill passing the classic Lake Cliff Park, and arrive at our favorite pub Eno’s in the Bishop Arts District for libations and celebrations. Live vintage-era music will be performed by local crooner Matthew Tolentino, pints will be discounted to all cyclists, and children may partake of soda waters at the adjacent “soda gallery”. After wetting our whistles, we’ll return along Beckley Boulevard, and back to Dealey Plaza.
We’ve had many OCer’s ask about bicycling to work, and how to best get started. Since it’s always more fun to ride as a group (along with greater safety in numbers), we’re going to begin a regular Thursday morning ride starting at Espumoso Cafe in the Bishop Arts District to Downtown. The owners at Espumoso have graciously offered to open 30 minutes early for us (7:30AM), and as you may already know, they offer free coffee with the purchase of a pastry to all bicyclists. We’ll look at leaving between 7:45AM and 8AM and heading in.
It’s a good way to meet your fellow cyclists, it’s cheaper than a gym membership, and will help you learn the ends and outs of urban bicycling.
This video is an alfresco interview with Danish planner, Jan Gehl, in a new plaza that he helped develop for New York City. We’ve featured Jan in the past, and have noted how NYC hired his firm to develop their new public space plan. In the interview, Gehl notes that before he started working there, the quality of the city had not been challenged for 30 years. It’s amazing to see what has been rolled out in three short years, and how it has dramatically changed the landscape. He also discusses the bicycle lane implementation, and how the infrastructure addition took back the streets from the cars and returned it to the people. This is a major point we stress at BFOC when discussing bicycle lane and boulevard development. It’s not merely a way to allow cyclists safe space to ride, but the implementation changes the overall psychology of a street, making it notably focused on people. It’s one tool of many that cities experiencing major revitalization and redevelopment have used with great success (ie. Portland, Austin, Boulder).
Dallas is set to announce a bid to bring in a consultant to create our area’s comprehensive plan. We hope the search goes well beyond the national level, as very few planners in the US have the amount of experience agencies in Europe and elsewhere have in implementing successful citywide programs. Gehl’s firm alone started in the early 1960’s, and has not only created the incredible Stroget pedestrian plaza, and NYC’s new public spaces plan, but San Francisco’s Fisherman’s Wharf, and now Mexico City’s comprehensive plan. We have an amazing opportunity to create a model city for the 21st century. At the very least, it’s imperative that whoever we hire has experience well beyond the conceptual, and is willing to think far beyond the status quo.
Thanks to all who came out for Sunday’s CliffFest ‘09 in Bishop Arts. 74 Oak Cliff merchants setup shop to show off their wares and a huge turnout arrived. The weather was perfect, even though the forecast called for rain by mid-afternoon. Here’s some pic’s from the day:
A jorg & olif!
The House of MacGregor justs offered a 10% discount to anyone who says “‘ello Guvnor!” when they order a hat from her!
Need ideas for the upcoming tweed ride? We have some incredible OC locals that can help you out. First off, talk to Tara Tonini of Tara to the T about a custom outfit and hat (she’s made bicycling hats for us in the past):
We also have another acclaimed milliner, Cassie MacGregor of the House of MacGregor, who has a wide range of vintage hat styles for men and women:
Need some cool, old-school fingerless gloves? Check out Julie’s shop “Make” in Bishop Arts:
And for more outfit ideas, head over to Zola’s Everyday Vintage across the street from Eno’s:
Lastly, Salvation Army and Goodwill stores always have a fairly large selection of old suits and ephemera. The SA on Jefferson & Tyler has been a treasure trove for us from incredible $30 vintage bicycles, to LP’s, and clothing. Of course, their selection changes daily, so you have to check in semi-regularly to find the deals.
The Sacramento Tweed Ride was on Sunday, November 8th and they had about 80 people participate! Here are some great photos from their ride to inspire you for the upcoming Dallas Tweed Ride on November 22nd.
(photos and link via rowdykittens.)
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Notable:
Dallas Tops Bicycle Magazine's Worst Cities for Cycling
Answers to most common talking points by those opposed to bicycle infrastructure
“There are times I ride in Austin, and I’m afraid of cars...Imagine what the beginner cyclist must feel like?”
- Lance Armstrong
The success of “complete streets” advocacy in cities such as San Francisco, Portland, New York, and Chicago has clearly demonstrated the effectiveness of infrastructural enhancement.
-Paul Dorn, League Cycling Instructor (#1237)
The CDC (Centers for Disease Control) Recommends cities adopt bicycle lanes to curb obesity trends
Portland Metro: 174 Miles of On-street bikelanes, 8% bicycle ridership, 0 Fatalities in 2008
Dallas Metro: 0 Miles of On-Street bike lanes, .2% bicycle ridership, 6 Fatalities in 2008
"Our story is build it and they will come. We’ve built it and we now are approaching 6-8% mode split."
- Roger Geller, Bike Coordinator for Portland
Dallas Craig’s List Bike ListingsFriends of BFOC
