frisco texas

[cosmo starr]

what city representative do i need to contact in regards to improving the bikability of my town for myself and others....

its frustrating and dangerous with 50+mph curbed road, sidewalks (if there are even sidewalks) are more for aesthetics than function, nothing even suggesting that any one would ride a bike anywhere around here.

i well understand the benefits of biking for myself, others, and the community as a whole and wish to encourage the city to consider the same

[supcom]

Frisco is home of the Superdrome so is no stranger to cycling.

Why don't you start with the streets department. They should be able to tell what bike friendly projects are in the works. However, don't expect any kind of quick action on new accomodations. Even in the best of circumstances, street improvements take a long time to get implemented.

The parks department should be able to tell you about any bike paths in parks, if you are interested in those.

Otherwise, you could always go down to the superdrome (www.superdrome.com) and do some riding. The Frisco Cycling club appears to be responsible for the track so maybe you could get together with some of them to lobby for street improvements. What sorts of things are you looking for?

I ride extensively in the Dallas area (though not in Frisco) and can generally find good routes anywhere I want to go, despite not having any cycle specific facilities.

[jabowker]

I ride extensively in the Dallas area (though not in Frisco) and can generally find good routes anywhere I want to go, despite not having any cycle specific facilities.

For a mostly uptodate map of bike facilities in the metroplex go to NCTCOG Veloweb Map (dfwmaps) (http://www.dfwmaps.com/index.asp?Command=&ExtentLeft=1944994&ExtentBottom=6534858&ExtentRight=2777161&ExtentTop=7286092&MapScale=199320&Layers=on&BPTRAILS=on&Requests=on&idCmd=&identify=&mo=1&AF=&mapTheme=dfwmaps&msize=large&mapOption=pedestrian&buffer=&) Some of what is shown as being funded is actually complete as well.

As for who to contact, I don't know any names but Mayor, City Council, City Planning and Parks and Recreation personel are probably all good places to go. If you can get others to do the same thing it would help.

[supcom]

For a mostly uptodate map of bike facilities in the metroplex go to NCTCOG Veloweb Map (dfwmaps) (http://www.dfwmaps.com/index.asp?Command=&ExtentLeft=1944994&ExtentBottom=6534858&ExtentRight=2777161&ExtentTop=7286092&MapScale=199320&Layers=on&BPTRAILS=on&Requests=on&idCmd=&identify=&mo=1&AF=&mapTheme=dfwmaps&msize=large&mapOption=pedestrian&buffer=&) Some of what is shown as being funded is actually complete as well.

As for who to contact, I don't know any names but Mayor, City Council, City Planning and Parks and Recreation personel are probably all good places to go. If you can get others to do the same thing it would help.

In Dallas there are several bike trails. Most notable are the White Rock Lake trail that circumnavigates the lake and the White Rock Creek trail that runs from the north side of White Rock Lake and extends up to I635. In addition, there is the new Katy trail that runs from near the Mockingbird Rail station all the way to downtown Dallas ending at the American Airlines Center.

Dallas also has a 'bike plan' with number bike routes criss crossing the city. The routes are predominately east-west and north-south and are generally marked with white signs on blue backgrounds at various points along the routes. There are no specific bike lanes that I know of but the routes are generally chosen to use less traveled streets. The plan has been in existance for quite a few years and there is a published book with the detailed routes overlayed on a street map. REI in Dallas sells the book for a nominal charge ($5.00) and perhaps some LBSs have it. Unfortunately, the bike plan only covers routes in the Dallas city limits.

Plano has the Chisholm trail, which is runs roughly parallel to Central Expressway for several miles. I've only ridden parts of it and have usually accessed it just west of Central Expressway at 15th street in Plano. It runs primarily north from there.

There are 'plans' to build more extensive bike facilities in the DFW area, including a Dallas to Ft Worth bike trail and an extensive park system along the Trinity River on the west side of downtown Dallas. But I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for anything to materialize in the near future.