Hello Big D

Did you know that there are no fat people in San Francisco? Actually that’s probably not true, but  during my short jaunt there last summer I was struck by the hordes of skinny people on every street corner. I’m pretty sure that this demographic trend can be explained by one of two things:

-The lack of decent pizza restaurants, or
-The fact that everyone (and I mean everyone) rides a bicycle.

When I got back to Dallas the contrast was staggering. Dallas is a car-loving city for sure, and as a result has been consistently ranked at the bottom of government records that track bike ridership and  has the distinction of being known as the “worst city for cyclists” in the United States. Definitely a sad revelation for a new Dallas-ite who loves to get around on his two-wheeler.

However, all is not lost. A couple of months ago I was taking a walk around my neighborhood when I  noticed something that had escaped my attention up to this point; a blue sign with a pegasus and the welcome words “bike route” emblazened on it. After some brief research I discovered that Dallas had indeed established a rather thorough web (somewhere in my research I encountered the figure “400 miles”) of bike routes throughout the city some time in the early ‘90s and marked the more prominent ones with these handy blue signs. Over the past few weeks I’ve started exploring some of the routes with great success, though I’ve learned a few things:

• The route maps, which can be downloaded here, are terrible. Pretty much useless unless you just want a general idea of where in the U.S. “Dallas” is. I think the bike routes are shown in actual highlighter and were drawn by someone who knocked back a few too many before getting down to business.

• Maps aside, the routes are extremely well marked and difficult to stray from. I was a bit worried at first that signs would be missing since at this point they have been up for a couple of decades and have no indication of being well used, but so far this fear has been unfounded.

• The routes, though well marked, are OLD. Some of the streets that were nice and quiet 20 years ago are now pretty high-traffic areas.

• Riding the bike routes is a great way to familiarize yourself with Dallas, especially if you’re new to the city. I still regularly get lost within two blocks of my apartment or office, but I’m making progress slowly  but surely.

Words of caution: Dallas is full of really bad roads, construction, and drivers who have no idea how to share the road with cyclists. Riding in Dallas requires constant alertness, a helmet (please?), an absence of earbuds from one’s ears while riding, and no shortage of assertiveness. Due to the city’s lack of bike lanes (a whole story within itself) claiming the lane is a must for leg-powered drivers.

So, get out and enjoy those bike routes. Once you start looking you’ll see them everywhere.

Resources:
Bike Friendly Oak Cliff - A great community resource for Dallas cyclists whether or not you live in Oak Cliff proper. Lots of interesting info on the bike lane debate as well as well as other relevant stuff. Also, I got many of my links for this article from BFOC, so thanks to them for that.

Cycle Dallas - The blog of PM Summers, the former official Dallas Bike Coordinator. It has a bit of inside information and is an interesting insight into a vehemently anti-bike-lane viewpoint.

Dallas Bike Plan - Here are those infamous maps. Be prepared to do a lot of squinting, but they’re worth a look.

Katy Trail - I mention this trail only because it is within spitting distance of my apartment (actually not, that’s kind of gross) and I’ve heard great things about it. Have I tried it myself? No. Have I heard glowing reviews about it from leisure cyclists who prefer to avoid Dallas roads altogether if possible? Yes.

Bicycle, Free, Mr. Manager, Outside, Parks, Public, Street, Uncategorized, awesomeness | No Comments

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If you haven’t been reading about the Trinity River Project scandal over that last year, you absolutely need to get up to speed. Basically, in 1998, Dallas voters approved the funding to transform the Trinity River bottom just west of downtown into an urban park. The project was beautifully rendered with picturesque images of sailboats, fountains, parks, and trails.

Unfortunately, it seems that all that was just used to entice the public to fund the building of a six-lane toll road hidden within the fine print of the original Proposition No. 11. Here’s what it said.

Proposition No. 11:

“The issuance of $246,000,000 general obligation Trinity River Corridor Project bonds, the project to include floodways, levees, waterways, open space, recreational facilities, the Trinity Parkway and related street improvements, and other related, necessary, and incidental improvements to the Trinity River Corridor.”

And now, after 10 years, nothing has been done at all to make the Trinity makeover a reality. Instead, all the effort has been allocated to this giant highway right through the park. Even if a park does eventually get built there, who wants to go on a run underneath a giant slab of concrete while breathing smog. Dallas Mayor Laura Miller, along with other city officials and they’re supporters, claimed that we could not have the park without the road, which has turned out to be a complete lie. They’ve used scare tactics to deter people from fighting against the developers and politicians, telling them that we could lose all of our funding to another city if we don’t shut up and just go along with something we didn’t vote for, or even want.

But until June 28, Dallas citizens who are REGISTERED VOTERS, have the opportunity to sign a petition to relcaim the Trinity River Project. Get more information from the TrinityVote site, and download the petition for yourself and friends.

Here are some other links for some more info:

Dallas Progress
KERA From May 21st, 2007
Dallas Observer
The Trinity River Corridor Project

Junior, Parks, Politics | 9 Comments

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If you don’t think entertaining a 2 year old is a full time job, then you probably think we landed on the moon. Well, no matter what you believe, the truth of the matter is during those long spring and summer breaks you might need some help. Here in the great Big D there are a lot of things to keep your little ones busy, but what if you only need to kill an hour or two? Or maybe you don’t feel like spending your life savings? One word, the Park.

Nestled right in between Midway Road and Marsh Lane on Northaven Road is Northaven Park, and while maybe not the most creative name, it does make remembering how to find it easy. The first thing you will notice after you unpack the kids is the shade. It covers the entire play area, which is great because you don’t have to sit in the sun and your kids won’t get 3rd degree burns from the merry-go-round. Northaven Park has pretty much every amenity your kid could ever want:

• A big swing set with 4 swings (2 toddler sized and 2 regular)
• “Tea Cups” that will spin you out of control (seriously, I had to rescue my wife)
• Several Slides
• Monkey bars
• Giant Turtle and a Play Car to ride on
• 2 big playground sets with all kinds of accessories
• A baseball diamond
• And if you time it right, a friendly “Fun Time Ice Cream Van”

There are also plenty of benches, in the all too important shade, to take a load off or eat some Goldfish. All in all, this is a great little park/play area for kids. It sits pretty far back from the street, so you don’t really have to worry about your kids wandering off to play Frogger. Also, every time I have been there it has been impeccably clean. So, the next time you feel like pulling your hair out or think your child has a better relationship with Spongebob and Patrick than with you, try taking your kids to a great little neighborhood park.

Authors, Children, Family, Parks, The Conspiracy Theorist | 1 Comment

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I have never had much of an interest in flowers or plants, but this spring when the cherry blossoms started blooming and the azaleas turned bright pink, my eyes were opened to a whole new world and I decided to take up gardening. After buying all the essential tools that make you feel warm and fuzzy about starting a new hobby, I went on a search for the best nursery in town. I went all over Dallas and ended up at North Haven Gardens. It has just about any plant or flower you could possibly want in any size that you need, and the staff is friendly and very knowledgeable. It’s perfect. Click here to get directions.

For more gardening inspiration, try the Dallas Arboretum. You will feel like you’re somewhere other than Dallas. My brother and I took one of their classes about growing vegetables and learned that we were pretty much doing everything wrong, but the instructor was very patient with us and we left with a lot of good information. For more information on classes and activities at the Arboretum click here.

Little Miss Dictator, Parks | 2 Comments

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