Executive Director of the Texas Bicycle Coalition Robin Stallings and Local Outreach Coordinators Joyce Cunningham and Fernando Martinez recently met with Amarillo Mayor Debra McCartt.

During the meeting Mayor McCartt shared with the TBC staff her vision for a bicycle-friendly city. Mayor McCartt’s vision is already showing signs of progress with Phase I of the Hike and Bike Master Plan nearly completed. Included in Phase I are new bike lanes for elementary schools.  Ideas as to how the lanes should be introduced were discussed with the mayor.

Amarillo Mayor Debra McCartt invited the community to join her for the second “Move with the Mayor” event. The Labor Day walk started at the Medical Center Park between the Don Harrington Discovery Center and the Amarillo Botanical Gardens. Approximately 40 participants gathered for the two-mile walk around the lake. Joyce Cunningham and Fernando Martinez, Texas Bicycle Coalition Local Outreach Coordinators (LOC’s) in Amarillo, attended the event as a way to connect with the community.

En Español - Este tipo de iniciativa motiva a toda una comunidad a buscar salidas a problemas como la obesidad que es un mal que ataca en gran proporción a la comunidad hispana. Llegarle a los mas pequeños es sembrar para que en un futuro sean ellos lo que agradezcan y disfruten del beneficio de ser saludables y disfrutar de un medio ambiente mas sano. Pero lo mas importante es no callarse y apoyar programas como estos,  porque el problema existe pero también tenemos la solución, lo que pasa es que muchos la ignoran.

by Steve Hayward

I spent a few minutes riding my bike around Amarillo High School this morning to see how the new street design worked. The old design on Fulton was four traffic lanes, two each way. The new design is two traffic lanes with a center turn lane and bike lanes on the outside.

Not only was the traffic a little light, but it was flowing very well with no delays. Having only one lane of traffic each way, there was no aggressive driving and speeds seemed lower than last year. Due to the bike lane, the cars were six feet away from the curb, making walking on the sidewalks safer. It seemed that everyone -- motor vehicle operators, pedestrians and bicyclists -- won, except for the aggressive drivers.

The talk heard around Puckett Elementary is primarily about the change in traffic around the school. Thanks to new bike lanes on surrounding streets, there has been a noticeable decrease in traffic.

Traffic is not the only thing affected by the new bike lanes. Pedestrians have benefited as well. With better visibility for both motorists and pedestrians, there is more cooperation, making walking to school easier and safer. People parking along the streets can get out of their cars easier and safer also.

According to the school crossing guard at the corner of Fulton and Langtree, the number of families walking to school this year has increased at least four times compared to last year’s numbers.

It just goes to show that a bike-friendly city improves the quality of life for everyone.