• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

BikeTexas

Advancing Bicycle Access, Safety, and Education

$0.00
(0)

Free shipping on all bike lights

Shop the BikeTexas Store!

  • Advocacy
    • Get Involved – Identify Your Legislators
    • TAP Funding
    • Complete Streets
      • Get Involved
      • Sign the Petition
    • Shifting Gears
    • Safe Passing
      • Safe Passing FAQs
    • National Bike Summit
    • VIP Bike Rides
    • NCSL Bike Rides
    • Legislative Success
    • Bikes on Driver Test Bill
    • Action Alerts
    • Matthew Brown Act
    • Contact Your Representative
    • Contacting City Council Members
    • Enhancements
    • Memorial Funds
  • Education
    • BikePedEd Books and Lights
      • BikePedEd Order Form
      • BikePedEd Sample Request
    • Educational Resources
      • Safe Routes to School Handbook
      • SafeCyclist Teacher Master Pages
    • SafeCyclist Curriculum and Certification
    • College Active Transportation Safety (CATS)
      • Presentations
      • CATS Resources and Activities
      • Safety Bling! Music Video
    • Texas Trails & Active Transportation Conference
    • Best Practices
    • BikeTexas KidsKup
      • Event Schedule
    • Share the Road Adult Education
    • Texas in Motion
  • Roads & Trails
    • Texas Bicycle Laws – 8 Things to Know
    • IMBA Rules of The Trail
    • Texas Active Living Network
    • BikeTexas Benchmark Study
    • North Texas Trails
  • About Us
    • BikeTexas BikeNews
      • Get Our Newsletter
    • Mission and Vision
    • Strategic Plan 2014-2019
    • Reports & Audits
    • Members
      • Individual Memberships
      • Business Memberships
      • Org and Club Membership
    • Contact Us
    • BikeTexas Staff
    • Board of Directors
    • Advisory Board
    • Press Room
      • BikeTexas In The News
      • Press Releases
      • Resolutions
    • Memorial Funds
    • Employment
    • Earth Share
    • Annual Meeting
  • Become a Member
  • Donate
  • Store
  • eBike Tours
  • My account
    • Orders
    • Addresses
    • Payment methods
    • Account details
  • Cart
You are here: Home / BikeTexas BikeNews / BikeNews; Advocacy / Taking a Walk with Mark Fenton
Taking a Walk with Mark Fenton

Taking a Walk with Mark Fenton

(Contributed by Eli Robinson, BikeTexas intern)

The highlight of the Texas Trails and Active Transportation Conference, for me, was Mark Fenton, an Olympian Speed Walker and alternative transportation advocate who captivated the entire conference over his enthusiastically-delivered Thursday lunch plenary titled “Lessons Learned on a Very Long Walk.”

By framing the process of successful community organizing into an anecdote of a Pacific Crest speed-hike adventure he recently undertook, Fenton’s presentation combined striking visual images, comedy, and audience participation into an exciting inspirational talk. It was easy to see how Fenton could coordinate disparate groups into a position of alignment by using his enthusiasm for the outdoors.


Following the luncheon, I chose to attend Fenton’s mobile discussion, “Community Engagement for Healthy Community Designs.” The discussion began with another PowerPoint presentation, this time a more specified exploration of neighborhood planning which compared mall-scapes, new urbanism and villages. He shared many entertaining terms of the field, my favorite of which was for people who are B.A.N.A.N.A.’s, meaning people of a mindset to Build Absolutely Nothing Anywhere Near Anything. He shared the difficulties of negotiating for pedestrian and bicycle access without discouragement, and by adding humor to complaint, he kept the focus of the projects he has undertaken on the projects, rather than the obstacles.

He recommended keeping the discussion open-minded in order to avoid attitudes of blame which bogs down personal responsibility, and to support honesty from the participants, because ultimately everyone is going to benefit by having trail routes in their area. Though this discussion had a lot of information in it, it was kept brief in order to fit in time for a walking tour.

Clad in raincoats, the group clambered out into the drizzle to investigate the Austin streets for examples of successful and unsuccessful pedestrian and bicycle planning. Less than one block from the Conference Center, Fenton paused at a city bike rack and asked the group why no one had parked their bike there, despite so many cyclists in the area for the conference. Individuals pointed out its location flaws – too close to parked cars on one side of the rack, in the path of pedestrians on the other. Additionally, the rack was positioned too far from the entrance of the closest business, a restaurant, to be an obvious parking spot and offer the security of direct eyesight for the customers. This was a new way to explore familiar territory, and the group became animated with the excitement of a new town to explore.

As the walk progressed Fenton pointed out a “goat path,” a place where pedestrians had created a trail through the grass for lack of charted territory, and we all noticed the cracks, broken curbs, unpredictable driveways of a gas station, and long wait for a crosswalk light with the fascination of foreigners in a new world. Every 2 blocks Fenton would stop and ask us to rate our route, one-to-ten, and then comment on what we’d liked and what we hadn’t. These pop-quizzes kept our awareness focused and allowed everyone to catch up, which was essential because he was an enormously fast walker and I was literally trotting to keep up!

We watched in anticipation for jay-walkers at a busy intersection, noticing an almost continuous stream of pedestrians relying on the turn lane as a pedestrian refuge to cross the street mid-block rather than long waits at the corner. We experienced the benefits in walking a tree lined street, and observed sidewalks which transitioned abruptly into stairs or whose ramps were too steep for practical use.

Fenton had the group line our bodies together shoulder to shoulder out into an intersection to demonstrate the shape of a curb bulb-out, a street design that forces car to slow down dramatically and gives pedestrians increased visibility with decreased time spent in the path of vehicular traffic. Fenton suggested using a similar strategy for streets one is proposing “reconfigurative” changes. Place well-marked hay bales in the street and observe the effect they have on traffic. His strategy also includes going door-to-door to discuss the project he is undertaking in order to open lines of communication early and to get an idea of the concerns of the immediate community for whom he is serving.

It was clear to see why Mark Fenton had achieved the success he has in his field and an honor to get to learn first hand how he does it. He allowed that his knowledge was incomplete and encouraged our group to speak up at every opportunity, right through the end of the walk, which concluded with a question from him that we each answered in turn. A question worth considering, I’ll now ask you: “What are you going to do to improve bicycle and pedestrian access this week?” For more on Fenton, click here.

Our Sponsors

Primary Sidebar

DONATE

Support access, safety, and education for all people who ride bikes in Texas.

SHOP OUR STORE

Bike lights, t-shirts, jerseys, and more.

GET OUR NEWSLETTER

Sign up today to stay informed about how bicycling is improving in Texas!

PREMIERE BUSINESS MEMBERS & SPONSORS

Support Texas Cycling

Become a Member

Individual • Business • Club/Team • Event

BikePedEd

Bike education materials for your classroom, youth organization, and more.

Shop BikeTexas Store

Bike Lights, Jerseys, License Plates, T-Shirts, and more

Order License Plates

Share your love for bikes while driving your car

Donate to the Cause

Support access, safety, and education for all people who ride bikes in Texas.

Safety & Education

SafeCyclist Training

Get certified to teach the SafeCyclist Curriculum

Educational Resources

Resources for teachers and community members

SRTS Event Handbook

Mission and Vision

MISSION BikeTexas advances bicycle access, safety, and education. We encourage and promote bicycling, increased safety, and improved conditions. We unite and inspire people and provide a cohesive voice for people who ride bikes in … Read More » about Mission and Vision

Donate to BikeTexas’ Advocacy and Education Efforts

Get Our Newsletter

Footer

PREMIERE BUSINESS MEMBERS & SPONSORS

Get Involved

  • Membership Matters
  • Volunteer
  • Best Practices
  • Be There
  • Contacting Your Representative
  • Get Involved – Identify Your Legislators
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms and Conditions

Order Your BikeTexas Jersey

BikeTexasJersey-2012-Front
BikeTexas
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
dero dealer
BIKETEXAS | Advancing Bicycle Access, Safety, and Education | © 2023 Texas Bicycle Coalition dba BikeTexas
Website by Logical Things