On January 11, 2011, Beaumont’s city council unanimously voted to enact a Safe Passing Ordinance. The ordinance became effective immediately upon passage. It requires cars and trucks to give at least three feet, and commercial vehicles to give at least six feet, when approaching or passing vulnerable road users such as pedestrians, cyclists, motorcyclists and […]
BikeNews; Advocacy
Three More Safe Passing Cities: El Paso, Beaumont and Edinburg!
Edinburg, TX becomes 7th city to enact Safe Passing Ordinance
On Tuesday, February 15, 2011, Edinburg City Council voted unanimously to adopt the Safe Passing Ordinance, making it the seventh city in Texas and the first in the Rio Grande Valley to take this important step towards creating a safe and respectful environment for all vulnerable road users. The ordinance stipulates that all vehicles allow […]
Complete Streets Legislation Filed at Texas Legislature
BikeTexas is excited to announce that Senator Rodney Ellis (D-Houston) and Representative Linda Harper-Brown (R-Irving) filed identical Complete Streets bills on February 3 at the Texas Legislature. The language for SB 513 and HB 1105 can be viewed here. The bill will strengthen requirements for inclusion of accommodations for cyclists, pedestrians, persons with disabilities, the […]
Do Roads Pay for Themselves? New Study Says No
A report published in January 2011 by the U.S. Public Interest Research Group Education Fund thoroughly debunks the myth that roads pay for themselves through gas and vehicle taxes. The report, Do Roads Pay For Themselves? Setting the Record Straight on Transportation Funding, asserts that roads have taken $600 billion more out of Federal funds […]
Beaumont Passes Safe Passing Ordinance!
Beaumont will become the sixth Texas city to adopt a Safe Passing Ordinance, stiupulating that private cars and trucks must give vulnerable road users at least three feet when passing, and commercial vehicles must give at least six feet. on January 11, 2011, Beaumont’s city council voted unanimously to enact the ordinance, which is based upon […]
El Paso City Council Approves Safe Passing Ordinance!
Congratulations El Paso! Yesterday, Tuesday, December 7, El Paso became the 5th Texas city to adopt the Safe Passing Ordinance! The measure was adopted with an overwhelming 7-1 vote, and will become effective March 1, 2011. Big thanks are due to City Representative Beto O’Rourke, who sponsored the measure, and to Mayor John Cook and […]
BikeTexas Awards Bike Friendliest Texas Legislators
As the 2011 Texas legislative session approaches, BikeTexas has honored a legislator from each house with a BikeTexas Champion Award. Senator Rodney Ellis (D-Houston) is a longtime supporter of cycling in Texas. An avid cyclist, Senator Ellis has authored many cycling-related bills, including the Safe Passing Bill in the 2009 legislative session. The Safe Passing […]
Stop the Bike Bans!
Please sign the petition in response to the Bartonville ordinance. Today, August 25, 2010, BikeTexas is posting an online petition against bike bans. Please take a moment to sign it and support Texas cyclists’ right to ride. Many Texas cyclists are aware that the City Council of Bartonville, a small rural community just south of […]
Join or Renew Now and You Could Win a Bike!
Join or renew your membership for a chance to WIN a 2011 TREK bike from your favorite Texas TREK Dealer!HHH attendees and all members – if you join or renew this August (either at our HHH booth, or by online by 5 pm Tuesday, Aug. 24), your name will be entered in our drawing for […]
Enhancements Funding Stays – BikeTexas Perseverance Pays Off!
Over $50 million for bicycle and pedestrian facilities and education funding was awarded by the Texas Transportation Commission (TTC) to cities all over Texas on July 29th! The bike/ped portion represented 42 of 54 projects awarded Federal Transportation Enhancement Program funds. Enhancements or TE funds have been the major source of bicycle facility funding in […]
National Conference of State Legislatures Bipartisan Bike Ride 2010
The sixth annual NCSL Bipartisan Bike Ride in Louisville, Kentucky was a huge success. About 100 state senators, representatives, spouses and legislative staff donned helmets and meandered through Louisville, Kentucky early Wednesday morning, July 28th. The route was a mix of on- and off-street. The Louisville Police Department provided an escort and “corked” the intersections. […]
World Bike Conference Report
According to BikeTexas Executive Director Robin Stallings, the Velo-City global 2010 cycling conference in Copenhagen (CPH) June 22-25 was unforgettable. One thousand attendees from 60 countries learned that “cycle tracks”, “separated bike lanes”, and “protected bikeways” are three ways to say “the future of bicycles as transportation” throughout the world.
BikeTexas Annual Meeting
The BikeTexas Annual Meeting will take place on Saturday, August 14 2010 at 4:00 pm, at the BikeTexas office at 1902 E. 6th Street, Austin TX 78702. You are welcome to attend in person, but if you can’t be here, you can attend from your home phone by teleconference. Please RSVP by clicking here and […]
TxDOT to Host 27 Public Input Meetings in August for Long-Range Plan Development
The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) continues the process started earlier this year of gathering public input for the updating Statewide Long-Range Transportation Plan. According to TxDOT, “the new Statewide Long-Range Transportation Plan 2035 will serve as the state’s 24-year ‘blueprint’ for the planning process.” Earlier this year, TxDOT had solicited public input from earlier […]
BikeTexas Joins Groups in Thanking Cabinet Members for Bike-Friendly Policies
At the end of May, BikeTexas proudly signed on to two letters thanking Obama Administration officials for embracing bike-friendly policies. The first letter, put together by America Bikes, the Safe Routes to School National Partnership, and Transportation for America, was directed to Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. As we discussed in the last newsletter, Secretary LaHood […]
New Braunfels Passes Safe Passing Ordinance
On Monday, April 26, 2010, New Braunfels becomes the 4th city in Texas joining Austin, San Antonio, and Helotes According to a quote in The Herald-Zeitung, “This gives law enforcement a tool, and I think it also creates added awareness for people that are out there driving,” said City Manager Mike Morrison. “Now not only […]
Big Thanks to Northwest Cycling Club!
On April 6, 2010 BikeTexas Executive Director Robin Stallings headed to Houston to update the Northwest Cycling Club on BikeTexas’ activities for the past year. There was an impressive turnout of 40-50 people. The club members were very attentive during the recap of BikeTexas education activities. However they were especially interested in the Safe Passing […]
Citizen Lobbying: A Constituent Meets With Her Congressman
(Contributed by Gail Spann) During the National Bike Summit we spent one of our days walking the halls of the Senate and Congress as we visit our elected officials from Texas. I led one of three groups of four other Texans as we walked from office to office, meeting mostly with staffers of the Senators […]
Survey for Women Cyclists
Women, the Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals needs YOU! They are conducting a survey designed to learn more about the reasons women do and do not ride bicycles, with the goal of finding strategies to increase the numbers of women cyclists. The survey should take between 5-15 minutes, and is not designed for mobile […]
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 […]