Friday is National Bike to Work Day, an annual event aimed at promoting the bicycle as a viable option for the morning commute. And depending upon where you live in North Texas, that can be easier said than done.
BikeDFW, a nonprofit organization dedicated to education, support and promotion of safe bicycle use, recognizes four local cities as being "bicycle friendly” – Fort Worth, Frisco, Plano and Richardson.
Fort Worth has, by far, the most miles of dedicated bike lanes in the region – 48.8 miles of lanes carved out for bikes only. And that does not count the many more miles of marked lanes that cyclists have to share with other traffic.
Frisco, at the other end of the spectrum, added its very first on-street bike lanes in December 2017 – two of them.
But Frisco does have a nine-member Bike Advisory Committee that meets every-other-month “to review items of cycling interest and discuss biking issues,” according to a city spokesperson. The advisory committee then makes recommendations to the Frisco Parks & Recreation Board.
In addition, Frisco has 90+ miles of hike and bike trails, including sidewalks.
Plano has zero marked, on-street bike lanes, according to a city spokesperson, but there are “about 164 miles of on-street bike routes that are signed.” The signed bike route system ties into Plano’s 80-mile trail system.
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In Denton, there are 26.7 miles of on-street bike lanes – 21.5 miles of which have been added since 2012. And there are specific plans to add to that system.
“As part of the City’s Strategic Plan, [Denton] has a goal to construct at least seven miles of bike infrastructure each year,” said Jessica Rogers, Deputy Director of Public Affairs for the City of Denton.
The City of Dallas currently has approximately 19 miles of bike lanes on city streets, in addition to 17 more miles that are either included in current construction projects or are in some preliminary stage of development.
Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) wants to help people participate in Bike to Work Day. DART will offer free bike safety checks, refreshments and more at several stations and stops between 7 a.m. and 9 a.m. Friday:
Addison Transit Center
Akard Station
CentrePort/DFW Airport Station
CityLine/Bush Station
Farmers Branch Station
Mockingbird Station
Oakenwald Streetcar Stop
Parker Road Station
