Dallas Bike Ridership Up 219%

Hat tip to Howard Draper of Bike Friendly Denton for forwarding us the latest report from the League of American Bicyclists noting the rates of bicycle ridership in the 70 largest cities in the US. While Dallas still ranks low for overall ridership, we had the highest percentage increase of all the cities ranked with a 219% uptick from 2008 to 2009.  FWIW, BFOC launched in 2008…not that there’s a direct correlation, but we like to think our efforts are helping raise awareness and ridership. See the full list here.

CYCLESOMATIC 2010

Cyclesomatic is back! This year we’re packing all of the bike love into four days including another Dallas Bikes to City Hall event, Lee Harvey Oswald historic themed group ride, Bicycle Block Party, a 75208 Group ride to the feature film “Pedal” at the Hotel Belmont, Photopol.us’s Photo Scavenger Hunt Polaride, a Fort Worth to Dallas ride, a Block Party in Bishop Arts (w/Beer, BBQ, Bands, Gold Sprints, et al), and More! See below for the complete schedule of events (with more to come!):

October 14th, Thursday	7:30 PM – 75208 Presents a Group Ride from Downtown to the Belmont Hotel to watch “Pedal“
October 15th, Friday	8:30 AM – Dallas Bikes to City Hall 3 PM – Rosemont Elementary’s Kiddical Mass Ride Presented by QBP and YBS Bikes (Rescheduled)9:30 PM – Bike-In Movie on the Lawn at the Crow Museum – Godzilla vs. King Kong
October 16th, Saturday	AM- Fort Worth to Dallas Ride – Details to Come 1PM – Alley Cat Race Presented b OCBC and DOOM 6PM – 10PM – Bicycle Block Party in Bishop Arts (w/Beer, BBQ, Bands, Gold Sprints, and more!)
October 17th, Sunday	10 AM – Photopol.us Present Polaride, A Bicycle Photo Scavenger Hunt 2:30PM BFOC Presents On the Trail of Lee Harvey Oswald History Tour Group Ride 4PM Cyclesomatic Wrap-Up Party at Eno’s Tavern

Check Back for more events and details!

NYC’s bike lanes reducing injuries by 50% for all modes of transit and bringing out more riders

 

This is an inspiring video from StreetFilms where they’ve interviewed women who have begun taking up bicycling in greater numbers in NYC. Dallas’ bike consultant, Peter Lagerway, mentioned that bicycle infrastructure brings out more cyclists, but seeing it here first hand is heartening.

The other incredible statistic is that injury rates for ALL modes of transit have decreased as much as 50% where bike lanes are present. We noted from our recent visit to NYC that the reason for injury reduction was not only the heightened awareness due to the greater number of cyclists on the street, but also that with bicycle infrastructure present cyclists rode at a slower pace. Excessive speed is one of the greatest threats to pedestrians, cyclists, and drivers and noting the natural calming of traffic speeds has dramatically changed the psychology of the streets so much so that people who would never have bicycled before, have begun to hop on the saddle. Portland stated this as well, that the fearless cyclists made up approximately 2% of their overall ridership, while the other 98% which gave their community one of the highest cycling rates in the nation, was due to accommodating those who were uncomfortable riding in traffic.

BFOC Featured in this Months D Magazine

Be sure to pick up a copy of the latest D Magazine this month.  Bike Friendly Oak Cliff is featured in a story that talks about the movement in Dallas to promote more walkability and bicycling throughout the city.  Also, some great pics by Matt Hawthorne throughout the article.

Presenting: The One Car-No Car Series

It is our pleasure to present a new series of blog posts solely dedicated to highlighting how we can reduce our use of the automobile, and substituting those uses for other alternative forms of transportation. 

BFOCr’s aren’t bicycle centric, but many merely recognize that there are several different types of trips that average Americans take everyday, and we happily choose to find ways to fit it’s uses into our everyday lives.  This series will highlight many ways we can live One Car-No Car through our own members points of view.

What does One Car-No Car mean?  Simply put, it means you either own one car or don’t own a car at all.  However, there is much more meaning behind being One Car-No Car.  It’s taking a hard look at your lifestyle and how you use the automobile.  Then deciding how you can substitute those uses for other alternative means of transportation.

We’re starting this series to mark the World Car Free Day on September 22, 2010.  Consider your trip tomorrow:  Can I use my bicycle to get to work instead of conveniently getting in the car?  I will have to get up a little earlier, plan my route beforehand, and consider my clothing options, but these things couldn’t be too hard to figure out…..Or, I could go about my normal routine in my car, sealed up from the natural environment and miss out on the new discoveries I may encounter.

What are you going to do? Make excuses and do nothing or challenge yourself to consider the alternatives?

Group Ride: On the Trail of Lee Harvey Oswald

Join BFOC for a group bicycle ride on Sunday, October 17th, at 2:30PM starting at Dealey Plaza in Downtown Dallas, and passing the infamous residences of JFK’s alleged assassin. This was the group ride that launched BFOC in 2008, and is one of our favorites. Our ride will take us over the 1912 Houston Street Viaduct, crossing into North Oak Cliff, and stopping at pivotal spots from that fateful day in 1963. We’ll end up our ride passing through the Bishop Arts District, stopping for drinks at Eno’s.

This ride will be weather permitting so check back for updates. Highlights of the trip will include:

- Meeting in front of the Sixth Floor Museum
- Riding over the 1912 Houston Street Viaduct
- stopping at 1026 N. Beckley, last residence of Lee Harvey Oswald
- Following LHO’s escape route to the site where JD. Tippit was shot
- Visit the Texas Theatre, site of LHO’s capture
- Ride through the Bishop Arts District and stop at Eno’s Tavern
- stopping at 214 W. Neely, site of infamous Oswald “Backyard Photos”

The following link is a map of our proposed route: http://tr.im/4fdy

View the Facebook event here.

2008 BFOC Tracing the Footsteps of Lee Harvey Oswald Group Ride (photo by Brian Green)

Bike-Basket Building @ Oil and Cotton This Saturday

Saturday, September 18  |  10 a.m. to 4 p.m.  | $65  | 837 W. 7th Street (Tyler/7th)

Oil and Cotton (follow them on Facebook) opened their French doors for business last Saturday and is hosting their first workshop this weekend—a bike basket–building class. You might have seen BFOC’er, and Oil and Cotton co-owner, Shannon Driscoll riding around Oak Cliff during the Blues, Bandits, and BBQ block party looking adorable. In this workshop you’ll learn to make one like the fine example pictured above—made from rattan reed, sea grass, and solid ash wood, leather straps, and metal handle perfect for riding around and running errands. There’s limited-space available and you’ve gotta R.S.V.P. so don’t sleep on this cool class. Register here.

Recap of the Better Block 2

(reposted from Go Oak Cliff)

Amid the wonderful smells of smoked barbeque, and just beyond the music, we managed our second “Better Block” project, where we took a gray, concrete, and car-focused block and converted it into a more humane space that placed people first. First off, big thanks go to SWA Group, and Metheney for providing us with amazing landscaping plans and with 42 trees and 100 shrubs which were strategically placed throughout the area. We started with the 1300 Block of West Davis:

The area is filled with 1920′s – 1940′s structures built to the sidewalk with one exception…a gas station set back that breaks the people-friendly form. The businesses built in the area received a large portion of their foot traffic from the streetcar which ran along Seventh Street and turned onto Edgefield. Once the streetcar was removed in 1956, the block was retrofitted over time to push people aside for cars. As sprawl developed and zoning laws changed, businesses that could survive in these spaces had a hard time managing Dallas’ post-war transition. Lanes were widened creating faster traffic patterns, landscaping was uprooted to allow for more parking, and building windows were filled with mirrored glass, making the space unusable for window-shopping, and allowing little light to pass through. Though it took half a century to devolve, we were able to revive the space in under 24 hours:

David Thompson at SWA Group was instrumental in helping us walk the block and outline a plan of attack. First, we had to bring landscaping back. Dallas is hot, and people want shade…seeing these old buildings tree lined dramatically improved the area. The middle turn lane, which is only needed at the intersections but runs the entire length of the block, was reclaimed with 100 shrubs that gave an extra layer of safety for families crossing the street.

To make a space feel more humane, and inviting to people, we looked at all of the obstacles facing us. Intersections were the most glaring with little to no cross walks. Here, we recreated our own Abbey Road.

Mid-century lights, which had burned out years ago were painted lively colors and given a second chance at life. When looking at what is necessary to bring people out in a community, perception of safety ranks as the highest priority. Lighting is a key element, and an easy way to revive an area is to begin changing burned-out/broken light bulbs.

An abandoned telephone pole sat waiting for some kind of treatment. We decided to do our own version of the Nasher pole in downtown Dallas.

As the morning unfolded, two construction vehicles went to work lining the street with 42 trees that were set to be installed at another client site the following week. The landscaping group, Metheney, pulled off a coup by letting us install them on our block before they were set to be planted. As we watched each of the trees roll out of the semi-trailer, you could feel the block coming back to life.

We worked with local vendors and asked them to bring their merchandise outdoors and to the block to help draw life and activity to the street. This tienda had just opened a few weeks prior, but the owner said business had been slow…at the end of Better Block he said, “We needed this!”.

On the North East corner of the 1300 Block sat a glass building that had been covered in mirrored tint, and was vacant for over a year. We immediately removed the tint to open the space and allow window shopping and light to permeate the space. This light adds to the perception of safety in the area at night as well. We worked with local artists to bring out as many products highlighting the talented crafters of OC.

(photo by Karla Garcia)

At the gateway to the Better Block, we coordinated with one of our favorite muralists, Kevin Obregon, to help bring color to the bare white walls of Chango Botanica, and to allow the theme of the store to be highlighted outside of the building. Our area botanicas bring a mixture of spirituality, culture, and folk art that help identify Oak Cliff.

The most simple, but important element to the Better Block project was just giving people a comfortable, shaded place to sit and linger. In Copenhagen, the city measures its quality of life improvements by the number of outdoor cafe seats that open up each year. Not a bad metric for Oak Cliff to follow. 24 hours prior, there were cars filling this area. The small ice cream shop, which only has two parking spaces, now wants to create seating instead.

The landscaping performed the same element of slowing traffic as with our first Better Block. A main street should be slow and feel safe so that people can see the businesses clearly, and stroll comfortably along the block. When the lanes were widened and cars sped through the area, people felt less inclined to walk with strollers along the sidewalk. Cars that entered the area respected the new lines and commerce was able to increase.

When I was beginning to study urban planning, mentors would regularly tell me, “It all starts with the street…if you get that wrong, everything else breaks.” I didn’t understand that early on, but as I’ve helped organize these projects, it’s become incredibly notable. Simply put, if you build a wide 6-lane road, you’re going to get a big box styled development with high speed roads and little pedestrian foot traffic. If you build 2 lanes, slow and landscaped, with wide sidewalks and any other multimodal transit options (bike lanes, streetcars, etc.), you’ll get small shops and places that people love to spend time in.

The Dallas Morning News wrote about our city’s pending Bike Plan, and ironically, one of the blog commenters cited the weekend as an example of how it’s “too hot and humid in our city for people to take bicycling seriously”…apparantly Oak Cliff didn’t get that memo. The reality is that all communities face challenges with climate. In Portland it rains 1/3 of the year, in Copenhagen it’s freezing cold 1/3 of the year. Creating safer ways for people to walk and bicycle in an area creates more eyes on the street and adds to an areas feeling of safety as well as creating more life in a community.

In the end, it’s all about the people and giving families young and old a safe, comfortable, and dignified area to live in. When we build for cars only, we make things fast, unsafe, and less humane…we adopted an 8 and 80 rule, where we should look at our community from the eyes of an 8 year old and the eyes of an 80 year. If it feels safe for those two age ranges, it will be safe for everyone. Our city needs to refocus its priorities and think about what it is that people really want in a community. For the price of a single Calatrava bridge, we could have built a thousand Better Blocks…and made them permanent.

Our new artwork at the Better Block 2!

Check out our latest artwork at the Better Block 2 at Davis and Clinton. We have a full write-up on the event here.

Dallas Public Bike Plan Meeting Announced

Head to City Hall tonight to see the first draft of Dallas’s new bike plan. A few of us here at BFOC worked on the committee to provide input to the plan, so it’s a pretty exciting opportunity for all to review and provide input.