Texas - New Dallas Bike Coordinator?

I was reading the bike friendly oak cliff blog and they note that Dallas has a new bike coordinator coming soon, his name is Max Kalhammer. No other details were given.

Since the former bike coordinator said Dallas would NEVER have bike lanes as long as he is the coordinator, and since now Dallas is planning to build bike lanes I guess he decided to move on or something.

Anyhow I have no details and was curious if anyone else is in the know.

Chris

The only thing I know is that the new guy doesn't have far to go to be a huge improvement over the old guy.

The only thing I know is that the new guy doesn't have far to go to be a huge improvement over the old guy.

Why so? I don't know the former coordinator personally or professionally, so I don't have first-hand knowledge of his accomplishments. However, I've ridden my bike all over this city and I don't see any issues or discrepancies that leads me to conclude that he has done a poor job.

You'd have to read his blog and also check out the Bike Friendly Oak Cliff blog to learn more about the contentious relationship between many cyclists and PM Summer.

Why do the Oak Cliff folks want bike lanes so badly? Oak Cliff is one of the easiest, most peaceful parts of Dallas to ride in.

I always thought it was just a philosophical rift, with PM Summer being a "vehicular cycling" advocate, and others wanting bike lanes.

But in practical terms, it's not like the City has had a lot of spare cash for bike stuff anyway. And even with the stimulus money, I'd lay even odds that the City manages to miss getting in on the pig trough.

I think Summer's attitude towards anyone who didn't think like him as well as his moronic anti-bike lane propaganda ("bike lanes kill people") and those sickening pictures he'd post on his blog to prove that bike lanes kill people was just over the top. He might as well have posted pictures of people killed in an intersection and concluded traffic lights kill people. Furthermore, writing off the BFOC crowd as a bunch of "hipsters" (as if that was something bad) contributed to the "philosophical differences" as well.

And the financial flood gates are opening in Dallas in terms of money for bike lanes (and city leadership that wants them). They have cash in hand, not a ton but it's a start. I think we're going to see significant improvements in terms of bike lanes and related infrastructure in the next few years. Angela Hunt wants cycling in Dallas to be a significant feature and she and mayor Tom are both outspoken advocates of bike lanes and want to see Dallas recognized as being a very bike friendly city.

I'm hoping this will be an exciting decade for cycling in Dallas.

Why do the Oak Cliff folks want bike lanes so badly? Oak Cliff is one of the easiest, most peaceful parts of Dallas to ride in.

I don't understand this either. Oak Cliff is simple to ride in. The streets are overbuilt, even the side streets. This is because when Oak Cliff was built, they used high quality construction of the homes, streets and utilities.

I think this "bike lane" thing has been dreamed up by some of the newcomer idiots, trying to gay everything up.

The ONLY and I mean ONLY thing I wish to see is a safer way across the Trinity. Houston Street Viaduct can sometimes get a little iffy.

You know, I'm beginning to see the point in having bike lanes. It's not because you really need them. It's because 2/3 of the cyclists in Dallas ride on the sidewalks because they just don't know any better. That's sad. Yes, get right out around White Rock Lake, and you'll see everyone zipping around on the roads in their spandex. Go 2 miles in any direction, and you'll see very few cyclists, and the ones that you do see are just as likely as not to be on the wrong side of the road, on the sidewalk, etc.

The thing is, any bike lane that is not seperated by a physical barrier and maintained with streetsweeping is useless. You're never going to get that kind of support to build an extensive enough system of seperated bike lanes to make safe travel feasible. At least that's my opinion.

Sunday afternoon, I rode Dallas Bike Route 280 from end to end (goes from LaPrada Drive to Harry Hines on the north side of town). Where the route goes through University Park, it's not marked in any way. So I'm on a quiet side street cruising along through a residential neighborhood- the ideal place to ride on the street, it doesn't get any better than that. And I see this man on a cruiser, pulling a kid trailer, and a woman, and a kid on a bicycle. They're all riding on the sidewalk. Why? They just don't know the difference. They're the ones that need a great big "Ride Here" stripe down the side of the road.

Summers just always seemed to weigh all of his support in terms of car free and commuting. This isn't a bad thing in of itself. The problem was he seemed to have an opinion that until the percentage of car free and commuter riders increased there was no real need to invest in the infrastructure. Recreational cycling never seemed to be very big on his radar.

I remember reading on his blog site about monitoring a bike route and by his own determination that of the all the cyclist he saw that only a small percentage of them were commuters. Because of this he saw no need to better improve a couple of intersections as they related to bike crossings. There was also a report on how many automobiles used the same route and it always struck me as odd that there was no distinction offered as to which automobiles were being used for commuting, shopping, pleasure, etc. The same could not be said of cyclist.

There is a reason Dallas is rated so low year after for not being bike friendly. Mr. Summers was not a solution to that on going trend.

I just want a somewhat safe and sane way to get from Preston west across the tollway. Anywhere between Arapaho and Spring Valley.
It's a perfect commuting distance for the wife, but MAN! you take a huge chance with the traffic (10 - 20 mph over the limit).

The designated "bike routes" need to be updated and re-marked (or changed). Some are absolutely insane to try to ride. The new coordinator should have them all actually ridden and re evaluated.

Some of the MUPs connect in a way that allows you to get from one area to another, but it's not enough.

The aforementioned blog: http://www.cycledallas.blogspot.com/

I've met PM Summers in person and didn't find him evil. His delivery can be abrasive. I think money is better spent on education than painting lines on the road.

What I would like to know is this: does Mr Summer know that he has been replaced?

So, what are the bonafides of Mr Kalhammer? I couldn't find much of anything on him via an internet search. With the Dallas budget shortfalls, will he be around past summer?

I read (http://bikefriendlyoc.wordpress.com/2009/05/14/dallas-hires-new-bike-coordinator/) he is coming from the east coast. Can someone verify this? I'm a little concerned about someone with little experience riding in the area (this goes for people whom have lived here a long time, too) making decisions on behalf of the whole population. Say what you will about PM Summer; I'm not going to defend his every move, but he has extensive knowledge of the city and, from what I can tell, a practical wisdom regarding our infrastructure.

I've lived in a city w/ a huge network of bike lanes, and let me tell you, they cause just as many problems as they "solve".

The aforementioned blog: http://www.cycledallas.blogspot.com/

I've met PM Summers in person and didn't find him evil. His delivery can be abrasive. I think money is better spent on education than painting lines on the road.

Ditto Rammer. Education would simultaneously address those folks riding on the sidewalk and drivers who tailgate cyclists.

I briefly met Mr Kalhammer at the NCTOG BPAC meeting last Wednesday. He seemed very nice & soft spoken. I did not get the impression that he's a fanatic of any variety. I did wonder how he'll fare in the morass of tight-budget Dallas politics.

You know, I'm beginning to see the point in having bike lanes. It's not because you really need them. It's because 2/3 of the cyclists in Dallas ride on the sidewalks because they just don't know any better. That's sad. Yes, get right out around White Rock Lake, and you'll see everyone zipping around on the roads in their spandex. Go 2 miles in any direction, and you'll see very few cyclists, and the ones that you do see are just as likely as not to be on the wrong side of the road, on the sidewalk, etc.

Steve, do you think that law enforcement should be directed to give tickets to the cycling scofflaws you point out?

You'd have to read his blog and also check out the Bike Friendly Oak Cliff blog to learn more about the contentious relationship between many cyclists and PM Summer.

I did read his blog, Mr_Christopher, and I think he has the best interests of cyclists at heart.

Is this (http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_-pTk73xe3SY/ShxxUaNOM4I/AAAAAAAAB1w/sriq9xkldp0/s1600-h/bicycle_friendly.jpg) really the street engineering you expect from the city?

PM Summer has a lot (http://cycledallas.blogspot.com/2009/06/nut-shell.html) to say (http://cycledallas.blogspot.com/2009/06/which-one-these-is-real-bike-lane.html) about this bill (http://cycledallas.blogspot.com/2009/06/reason-prevails.html), and I think (http://cycledallas.blogspot.com/2009/06/does-safe-passing-bill-apply-to-toy.html) it has merit (http://cycledallas.blogspot.com/2009/06/thin-ice.html), don't you (http://cycledallas.blogspot.com/2009/06/tell-me-just-how-would-vulnerable-user.html)?

None the less, Mr_Christopher, municipalities are facing severe budget shortfalls that will get worse in the years to come. (It's the economy. Property values are falling, and with them, tax revenue. Sales tax receipts were off 5% in May, for example.) Bike infrastructure is the low-hanging fruit for budget cutters. Cyclists will be lucky if current bike lanes get swept at all.

Steve, do you think that law enforcement should be directed to give tickets to the cycling scofflaws you point out?

It seems to me that bicycle laws are very poorly enforced anyway. Unless they stepped up enforcement of laws a hundredfold, it wouldn't really change anything.

It seems to me that bicycle laws are very poorly enforced anyway. Unless they stepped up enforcement of laws a hundredfold, it wouldn't really change anything.

Sure, I understand, but do you think that law enforcement should be directed to give tickets to the cycling scofflaws?

Sure, I understand, but do you think that law enforcement should be directed to give tickets to the cycling scofflaws?

Yes there are scofflaws on both sides of the equation.