Texas - biking on west park toll road in houston

has anyone biked on the toll road/would i get a ticket for biking on the tollway?

sorry if this is a dumb question but westpark toll road seems like a safe way to get somewhere far.

I have never biked on that road, but the TTA does not like cyclists on its roads. I was once arrested for riding on the Beltway 8 toll bridge.

The law states that pedestrians, bicycles and motor driven cycles are not allowed on "limited access roadways", and a tollroad fits that definition.

Oh I see. thanks for the info. Guess Ill just be on the feeder?

The law states that pedestrians, bicycles and motor driven cycles are not allowed on "limited access roadways", and a tollroad fits that definition.That must be a City of Houston or whatever county that is law ... Texas law doesn't say that. (But it does let local governments create such laws under certain conditions.)

I have never biked on that road, but the TTA does not like cyclists on its roads. I was once arrested for riding on the Beltway 8 toll bridge.

The law states that pedestrians, bicycles and motor driven cycles are not allowed on "limited access roadways", and a tollroad fits that definition.

nice climb! :thumb:

Yep...it is the best climb in the area. The descent was not to shabby either...The officer caught me at the bottom. I was almost to 225.

I looked for the text that says that, and it is not listed in the code. However, drive (in a car) the road you want to ride, and look for signs at the entrance ramps. If they are there (they will say no Bicycles Pedestrians or Motor Driven Cycles allowed), then do not ride there, if they are not there, ride at your own risk. There was no sign on the bridge (there is now), but I was still arrested.

You were arrested? Hauled to jail? Not just a ticket?

Texas law permits local governments to prohibit bicycle access to certain roads, but there must be signs (http://law.onecle.com/texas/transportation/545.065.00.html) that show this prohibition. Hopefully you fought that charge and won if there was no sign ...

In Austin, cyclists are generally permitted even on the toll-roads, even though the people running the toll roads don't like it. The story is here (http://www.cicle.org/cicle_content/pivot/entry.php?id=1701).

Usually before new toll roads are opened to car traffic they will have some sort of event where they let bicycles ride the toll road. Usually when they talk about it on the news they make some sort of comment about that being the ONLY time the toll road will be open to bicycle traffic.

I know they did it with the Hardy Toll Road and with Westpark Toll Road. I don't think they did it with Beltway 8 though.

Yep, arrested and hauled to jail. I was a minor at the time (16), and the officer told me that he could write me a ticket, but was not going to.

He also left marks on my arms when he drug me off my bike, and threw it to the ground because I did not get off of it quickly enough. Then he called a tow truck (yep, for a road bike).

My mother had a field day, and we ended up being part of the action with the DPS that got the trooper terminated. Apparently he had been assigned to the bridge because he had a history of inappropriate responses, and his regional supervisor agreed that the bruises on my arms from his hands and face from being slammed into the hood of his car were highly unprofessional.

damn what an adventure. I guess I'll look before I go on if I do go on. I rode my bike for the first time and used harwin to westpark feeder to bissonnet to main. from hwy 6 to main and pease in downtown.

I noticed that:

(1) some drivers can be dicks and want to drive 6 inches from you
(2) riding is not as hard as I thought
(3) I need to improve my speed
(4) My ass bones are still sore

Yep, arrested and hauled to jail. I was a minor at the time (16), and the officer told me that he could write me a ticket, but was not going to.

He also left marks on my arms when he drug me off my bike, and threw it to the ground because I did not get off of it quickly enough. Then he called a tow truck (yep, for a road bike).

My mother had a field day, and we ended up being part of the action with the DPS that got the trooper terminated. Apparently he had been assigned to the bridge because he had a history of inappropriate responses, and his regional supervisor agreed that the bruises on my arms from his hands and face from being slammed into the hood of his car were highly unprofessional.

damn what an adventure. I guess I'll look before I go on if I do go on the toll way. I rode my bike for the first time and used harwin then westpark feeder to bissonnet to main. from hwy 6 to main and pease in downtown about 23.3 miles.

I noticed that:

(1) some drivers can be dicks and want to drive 6 inches from you
(2) riding is not as hard as I thought
(3) I need to improve my speed
(4) My ass bones are still sore

I wouldn't suggest riding on any road where people are flying by at 70 mph.

-Nate

OK, I went and looked. At the entrances, there ARE signs that disallow pedestrians and bicycles on the Westpark Tollway. A sign is a sign. You CAN be ticketed for disregarding a traffic control device, period. If you don't like it, well, go and get a ticketed, and at your trial, make sure to ask ahead of time for a record to be kept, so you can take up the chain of appeals courts. Have a BIG wallet, or else a dedicated fanatic lawyer, who wants a crusade at his own expense. Civil disobedience is a time-honored way of changing things, but is not free. FWIW, it is one of the constable precincts that generally enforces laws on the Westpark Tollway, but a guy in a HPD blue suit can get you, too; overlapping jurisdiction.

yeah I stopped thinking about the tollway the day after I rode for the first time