[Jim Wilson]

BIKE FORT WORTH
to be Presented to Fort Worth City Council
9th of February 2010, 7:00pm, at Fort Worth City Hall

The City of Fort Worth will be requesting (recommended by city staff) the adoption of the
Bike Fort Worth plan (city's 1st ever bicycle transportation plan) by the Fort Worth City Council.
Your attendance at this public meeting is CRITICAL! Numbers matter, you'll make a difference!!
No, you do not need to be a FW Resident- you ride, shop, and work there... be there.

From FW City Staff:
Bike Fort Worth is the City’s guide for developing a bicycle friendly environment complete with facilities, programs,
and policies; ultimately, assisting residents by providing a safe and attractive alternative mode of transportation.
Please join us to support adoption of this plan if you are able. More HERE

Bike Fort Worth Presentation to Council:
Date: 9 February 2010 (a Tuesday)
Time: 7:00pm
Location: Fort Worth City Hall, 1000 Throckmorton Street, Fort Worth
Room: 2nd floor, Council Chambers.

This plan (planned trails, lanes, routes, funding, policies) has been in work for over a year.
FW City Staff has graciously included us in all phases of planning process.
It is time to get this adopted.

It is very likely City Council will adopt this plan; however,
your attendance will stress public support and go a long way
to ensuring timely implementation.
Public Representatives need to see Public Support for this Bicycle Plan.
See you there, invite and bring a friend- or two!

PLEASE NOTE Date Change to 9 FEB as now posted above

[Jim Wilson]

By the way,
if you are a Fort Worth resident...
... a nice e-mail, letter, or call to your Council Member
in support of Bike Fort Worth would be great!

You can find contact information at: http://tinyurl.com/ybt5g3p

[John T Roberts]

Jim, thanks for posting this. I'm sure the Fort Worth Bicycling Association will be there to offer support for this plan.

[Jim Wilson]

Thanks John,
This isn't a LMRA Bicycle Club, FWBA, FWMBA, road bike, mountain bike, or even exclusively bicycle topic-
-- this involves all of us and another option regarding transportation, quality of life, and connections between each.
I look forward to seeing a large, and varied turn-out for this meeting-
-- its important we show support for this and the need to adopt AND move forward with its implementation.
There's a simple means to show support and express interest to elected representatives- show up.

Thanks again,
Jim

[Fort Worthology]

I plan on having a look inside the draft plan up on Fort Worthology next week. Very exciting news!

[avvy]

I just emailed Joel Burns, since I can't attend the meeting with a toddler in tow. One of the streets proposed for a bike lane, Biddison at Hemphill, I've ridden many times myself. It will be great for biking with the addition of a lane - MUCH safer. You can ride it to Benbrook or Devitt, giving you access to West Berry St, bypassing the four-lane portion of Berry altogether (which I don't have the guts to ride). I really hope Bike Fort Worth comes to fruition.

[Jim Wilson]

PLEASE NOTE:
The BIKE FORT WORTH Plan
is now scheduled to be presented on 9 Feb 2009.
Still a Tuesday, Still at City Council, Still at 7pm.
(origianl post has been edited to reflect)

Thanks-
hope to see you there (bring a friend or two)

[John T Roberts]

Jim, thanks for posting the rescheduled meeting. I had lunch today with Joel Burns and we were discussing preservation issues, but I did get a moment to discuss the Bike Fort Worth Plan with him, as well. He didn't tell me about the change of dates.

[Jim Wilson]

The Bike Fort Worth plan was presented to Fort Worth City Council in a
Pre-Council session on Tuesday 2 February

You can view video of the meeting at: http://fortworthgov.granicus.com/MediaPlay...amp;clip_id=779
(Click on the 7th item of the listed agenda to go directly to Bike Fort Worth portion.)

Some items I took from watching:
- Mayor, "Bike/Bus lanes downtown show we're forward thinking"
- Staff explained they expect a large supportive crowd on 9 February
- Councilmember Kathleen Hicks-- we need to do more and push harder to get funding from Federal and Regional sources.

Additionally,
We can all take time to thank:
--Fort Worth Bicycling Association (FWBA)
--Bicycles Inc
--Colonel's Bicycle Shop
Each contributed to the purchase of "I Support Bike Fort Worth" t-shirts (we'll pass out for FREE while supplies last at the presentation),
and of course John Roberts- Thanks John.
As a member of the LMRA Bicycle Club I wish to thank each of these organizations for the assistance- this is a community topic.

See you there!

[John T Roberts]

I am organizing a large group of FWBA members to show up at this meeting and I also plan to make a short presentation to the Council. The club will be wearing either our red T-shirts, jerseys, or jackets depending on the weather to show support for this plan. I would also like to see a large group of forum members at this meeting who support this plan.

[Fort Worthology]

John knows my feelings on lycra but I plan on attending the meeting with the newly formed contingent of Bike Friendly Fort Worth, with Bernie and myself along with others riding to City Hall.

[Jim Wilson]

John knows my feelings on lycra but I plan on attending the meeting with the newly formed contingent of Bike Friendly Fort Worth, with Bernie and myself along with others riding to City Hall.

Thanks Kevin, and thanks for presenting this on FortWorthology too.
I hope to have a few minutes with you and Bernie before/after the meeting.

BTW, lycra not required.
Jim

[John T Roberts]

It's good to hear that we will have some people cycling to the meeting! I also agree with Jim that lycra is not required.

Jim, you are welcome and I am more than happy to provide support for this plan.

[John T Roberts]

This is a final reminder. The City Council Meeting is tomorrow night (Tuesday). We need all bicyclists there!

[Jim Wilson]

And my final reminder too.

There aren't that many opportunities to support safe access for cyclists...
... this is YOUR opportunity.

See you there and thank you.

[Jim Wilson]

That was AWESOME!
Thank you so much to everyone (and there were a lot of us) who attended!
What a great show of bicyclists, and what a great night for bicyclists!
That was down right fun!

John- thank you for this sight and its role in getting the word out.
Jim

[John T Roberts]

Jim, you are welcome. I want to thank you for organizing the great display of yellow T-shirts. Bicyclists filled the Council Chambers. I also wanted to thank everyone from this forum for attending. I had the opportunity to meet Doohickie at the meeting and then a few of us went to eat afterwards at Chili's on University. It was a great evening.

[Jim Wilson]

First, thank you John for this site and its use in promoting the event;
additionally, thank you Fort Worth Bicycle Association (FWBA) for the donation
to help the LMRA Bicycle Club purchase those bright yellow "I Support BIKE Fort Worth" t-shirts.
Thanks to all those businesses that put up our event posters and handed-out our fliers,
thanks to our club member Kyle C. who created a terrific (and certainly visible) event t-shirt,
and thanks to each of those other clubs who attended (FWBA, FWMBA, MBBC, TriCow Town, LMRABC, etc),
but...
... most importantly, thanks to everyone who attended! You provided a large postivie show of
support for bicycling in Fort Worth. It was a really good evening.


A post meeting observation:
Its funny how people celebrate.
I had a margarita (had to calm down) as did a few others,
John had a chocolate milk shake (and he looked really pleased with it too!).
You're okay John.

[Fort Worthology]

Here are some of my photos. I came with a different group - the newly formed Bike Friendly Fort Worth, who rode as a group from the Trinity Trails trailhead at University & Rogers Road to Foch Street, then up West 7th Street to Downtown into City Hall.

For more photos and my report from the council meeting, go here:

http://fortworthology.com/2010/02/10/city-...ort-worth-ride/

[John T Roberts]

Jim, I can understand the desire for a margarita, but I don't drink alcohol, so a chocolate shake is a decadent drink for me!

I forgot to thank the bicycle shops for supporting this event, also. Colonel's Bicycles and Bicycles, Inc. helped to make this all possible in addition to the bicycle clubs.

[Volare]

Nice write-up in the Star-Telegram, including a quote from John Roberts!

Star-Telegram article

I really like the "critical mass" at the end!

[Jim Wilson]

Don is rightfully proud of the plan he helped so much to develop,
he was also uncomfortable with all the praise... but he deserved it.

Certainly he and current city staff were thrilled to see so many take their time in support of the plan.

[John T Roberts]

Jim Wilson was also quoted in the paper, as well!

On a side note, several city staffers asked me when my next architectural tour was planned. Believe it or not, I have it scheduled for Sunday, April 11th. I don't know what area of town I will do next. We've done Downtown, South Fort Worth, and all of the West Side from Downtown out to Westover Hills. I have not done a North Side tour, nor have I tried one on the East Side.

[John T Roberts]

Fort Worth's and Portland's Bicycling Plans made it into bicycling.com, Bicycling Magazine Online.

Here's the link: http://bicycling.com/blogs/roadrights/2010...versus-my-city/

[Fort Worthology]

Of course, now comes the act of getting this stuff built.

I can say that I'm currently working with Fort Worth South and Trinity Bicycles on a comprehensive bike parking plan for the Near Southside that I hope can be used as a model for the rest of the city. We want to put in a significantly higher amount of bike parking, and of much higher quality, and I'm actually designing one of the setups myself. It's going to be fun, and I can't wait to reveal some more details.

[Jim Wilson]

Just like motor vehicle parking,
cyclists want their vehicles in well lighted, easily viewable locations.
The outback, near the dumpster, hidden in the trees idea is long gone.
Near the door, seen by all, and of course a good device/stand.
Its good to hear this effort is underway- it likely will be the example for the rest of the city.
Jim

[Nitixope]

On a side note, several city staffers asked me when my next architectural tour was planned. Believe it or not, I have it scheduled for Sunday, April 11th. I don't know what area of town I will do next. We've done Downtown, South Fort Worth, and all of the West Side from Downtown out to Westover Hills. I have not done a North Side tour, nor have I tried one on the East Side.

Sorry I couldn't make it. I was curious what area and sites you ended up covering?

[John T Roberts]

We did Samuels Avenue, the North Side, and the Stock Yards. It was a challenge because I didn't realize it was the Main Street Arts Festival Weekend and they had the Mud Run at LaGrave Field. We had to dodge the muddy runners on the bike trail and we had to dodge heavy traffic on Weatherford Street to get to Samuels without doing and out and back on the street.

[John T Roberts]

The city has now put up an expanded page on the Bike Fort Worth Plan. Here's the link: http://www.fortworthgov.org/bikefw/

[Doohickie]

Very cool. It looks like the Bomber Plant rail spur will be converted to a trail, and will run due south from Ridgmar Mall all the way to I-20.

My house is on one of the proposed bike routes. When I saw that proposed bike route in the plan a couple months ago, I started using it on my commute and it is an improvement over the route I used to take. I notice that the last mile or two of my commute, which is outside of Loop 820 on the west side, will eventually have a bike lane added to the road. This is significant since the road is currently a rural two-lane with no shoulders. The proposed bike lane implies the road surface will be widened.

I also notice that over on the FW site, if you click on Projects, the third bullet is "Safe Passing Ordinance". Could this be something like the law that Rick Perry vetoed?

I may link the site over on BikeForums and see what other cyclists around the country think.

[Fort Worthology]

Yes - the city is talking about passing their own Safe Passing Ordinance since the state one was canned. Austin has already done so, I believe.

We're still working on a big bike parking initiative for the Near Southside - would add tons more racks all over the district. Think we're going to the TIF in the next few months with it.

[Jim Wilson]

I believe my position on a Safe Passing Bill is exactly that, support of a Safe Passing Bill.
Not necessarilly a "Safe Passing Bill for Cyclists" or a "Safe Passing Bill for Vulnerable Road Users" but,
a straight ahead "Safe Passing Bill" for all Public Roadway Users.

Specifically, rather than the current - pass at safe distance - we include a number/distance (3 feet);
however, we make this effective for all passing situations...
... motor vehicle/motor vehicle, or motor vehicle/bicycle, or motor vehicle/pedestrian, every vehicle- road users.
Increase the safety of cyclists, pedestrians, stranded mortorists, farm equipment, other drivers, everyone.

Simple, if you could reach out and touch it- you're wrong (3 feet).
As a cyclist I don't wish to be the "special" user, or the "vulnerable" user- just another vehicle.
I went to Austin in support of Safe Passing for Cyclists and again for Safe Passing for Vulnerable Road Users,
I hope next time its successful and for a straight forward Safe Passing Bill.

Note: simple clause for conditions under 10-15mph in congested areas could be included.

Jim

[Doohickie]

Ever get passed at three feet? Even that's too close, in my opinion, especially if there is a great difference in speeds or sizes of the vehicles. As I recall, the bill that Perry vetoed said 6 feet for trucks passing VRUs.