It’s too hot in Dallas for bike lanes, right?
March 23rd, 2009 § 5 Comments
On the “It’s too hot in Dallas” reference often cited by opponents of walkable initiatives like bike lanes in our area, we’d like to note that of AAA’s top 10 walkable cities in the US, two of them, Charleston and New Orleans, have similar summer temperatures as Dallas…and both have higher humidity. New Orleans restaurants will often shut down in August due to lack of tourists avoiding the heat, and Charleston residents anticipate the same 100 degree day temperatures we do in August. This is expected, as Charleston shares a similar latitude as Dallas.
Other interesting notes:
- Both Charleston and New Orleans have FAR lower densities than Dallas (384.7/km2, and 973/km2 respectively; Dallas: 1,391.9/km2)
- New Orleans has bike lanes, and is carrying out major expansion plans
Any guess as to which US city averages more 100+ degree days per year than Dallas, shares a similar density (1,570.6/km2), and recently achieved the League of American Bicyclists Silver Award, partly due to their incredible bike lane infrastructure? Tempe, Arizona.
“When we began promoting the creation of pedestrian streets and bike lanes in Copenhagen in the 1960′s, everyone said ‘You’re crazy! We’re Danes, not Italians, we don’t have a culture of walking.’”
Jan Gehl, Urban Planner for Copenhagen
They have laned but does anyone use them?
Tempe has 3.1 % ridership and they’re showing year over year increases. Portland was at 4% at the same time period in they’re infrastructure development (they have a 10 year jump on Tempe). Portland is now seeing 8% with year over year increases. They’re anticipating 12% by 2012. Also, they have created a $125 Million bicycle industry.
Dallas, in comparison, has 0.2% ridership. Portland was at 0.4% in 1992 (prior to lanes).
New Orleans and Charleston are adding more lane as we speak (they have not released ridership figures yet), so someone must be using them.
One other note…it rains in Portland 153 days out of the year, and temperatures hover at right above freezing for 3 months. Ridership drops 40% at this point. So even giving the drop, they’re not abandoning the infrastructure. It’s still seen as a net plus in regards to health, surrounding economic development, tourism, and has gained them notoriety nationwide.
The hottest days in Dallas make riding at late night perfect. That’s typically when I ride, after 9pm or so in the evening. I’m fortunate to have miles and miles of paved paths in my neighborhood so I’m not having to worry about cars taking me out at night.
Yes, Dallas has hot summers, but what people tend to forget is that we have mild winters, and incredible weather during the spring and fall. Many cities with avid bikers and walkers have worse climates than we!