• 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; Community / TxDOT Responds to BikeTexas Seal Coat Letter!

TxDOT Responds to BikeTexas Seal Coat Letter!

In mid-May, at the height of the most hectic part of the Texas legislative session, BikeTexas staff were very pleased to receive a letter from Mr. John Barton, P.E., Texas Department of Transportation’s (TxDOT) Director of Engineering Operations. Mr. Barton announced that TxDOT is now seeking to accommodate cyclists through better practices in the application of seal coat (TxDOT’s term for what most cyclists call “chip seal”) on Texas highways.

As many of you have personally experienced, the aggregate used in seal coat can be a hazard to cyclists when it accumulates on shoulders and in bike lanes. To address this, Mr. Barton’s main recommendation to TxDOT district engineers was to use smaller aggregate, and to sweep the excess off the road in a timely manner. Mr. Barton also encouraged the TxDOT Districts to work with cyclists to identify the safest routes in the district, plan specific bike corridors, provide signage and create bicycle route maps for the TxDOT website.

Mr. Barton’s cover letter to BikeTexas and his April 13, 2009 memo to TxDOT District Engineers, “Accommodating Bicycles in Seal Coat Construction,” can be viewed here. The 2008 inquiry on seal coat practices by BikeTexas and Mr. Barton’s immediate response then can be viewed here.

How soon and how much will it take for the TxDOT memo to translate into improvements for cyclists?

This is guidance for best practices, not a regulatory mandate. Nonetheless, guidance does go far in many highly regulatory and technical environments. Many cyclists are well aware that AASHTO (American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials) recommendations as guidance amount to de facto standards for roadway construction.

Texas cyclists have of course been communicating with TxDOT state and district engineers on a regular basis long before this exchange of letters. BikeTexas views this as the next step in getting mainstream acceptance of cyclists in Texas as a legal and normal on-road vehicle operator. We see this guidance as a great tool to further this acceptance not only at the state and district level, but at the regional (Metropolitan Planning Organization or MPO), county and municipal level.

BikeTexas offers its sincere thanks to Mr. Barton, TxDOT Statewide Bicycle/Pedestrian Coordinator Paul Douglas and others at TxDOT who worked to produce this end product while they also managed TxDOT affairs during a very busy legislative session, including TxDOT Sunset Review. We look forward to continued collaboration with TxDOT on the issues outlined in this memo as BikeTexas and Texas Cyclists continue to work with TxDOT and other public officials.

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