Texas Bicycling News for January 5, 2024
In 2024, let’s work to make Dallas bike-friendlier
By Dallas Morning News Editorial | www.dallasnews.com
City, residents can help transform transportation.
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Dallas roads are congested and crowded, and cycling can be a harrowing affair. Bike lanes set aside in areas where they aren’t needed or that lead to nowhere won’t make the streets any safer for cyclists. Happily, the city is aware of that.
As a 2024 New Year’s resolution, Dallas should make sure an upcoming investment in the city’s bike infrastructure improves mobility for residents.
City staff members are continuing to work on a plan to invest $2.5 million of city money plus possible grants and bond funding to make Dallas more bike-friendly. A full version of the plan is expected to come later this year for the City Council to consider.
As with all things in government, …
— Flat Rock Ranch (@jdreiss) January 3, 2024
**TEMPORARY TRAIL CLOSURE**
— Dallas Park and Recreation Department (@DallasParkRec) January 3, 2024
Please be aware that a portion of #DallasParks University Crossing Trail will be closed from Jan. 4th to Jan. 19th to facilitate conduit installation for a lighting project! You can expect to see construction from Worcola Street to Matilda Bridge. pic.twitter.com/mAPp8IUYWo
— Rick Ankrum (@texbiker) January 4, 2024
Thursday Tour de Southern Walnut Creek January 11 2024 https://t.co/wb2HJ6Mz3M #Meetup via @Meetup
— Rick Ankrum (@texbiker) January 6, 2024
DPS: Bicyclist dies after being hit by distracted driver, goes through windshield
by: Jesse Mendez | www.valleycentral.com
SAN BENITO, Texas (ValleyCentral) — The Texas Department of Public Safety is investigating a bicycle crash fatality crash that happened Wednesday in San Benito.
The initial investigation showed that at 1:16 p.m. a bicyclist was traveling on FM 732 north of US 281. A black Honda Civic, occupied by only the driver, was also traveling north behind the bicyclist. …
Troopers say 59-year-old San Benito cyclist killed in distracted driving crash
myrgv.com
A 59-year-old San Benito man was killed Wednesday afternoon after a car struck the bicycle he was riding and sent him crashing into the vehicle, authorities said.
Rodrigo Villarreal, 59, was riding his bicycle on Farm-to-Market Road 732 north of U.S. Highway 281 in the San Benito area when the crash occurred, which was around 1:16 p.m. Wednesday, according to a Texas Department of Public Safety news release.
Villarreal was traveling northbound when a man driving behind Villarreal in a Honda Civic crashed into him.
DPS said this caused Villarreal to “go airborne and land on the windshield of the Honda.”
The cyclist was transported to Valley Baptist Medical Center in Harlingen, where he later died.
Troopers suspect the driver of the Honda was distracted at the time but not driving under influence.
The investigation remains ongoing.
Video: Cyclists call for safety on roads after biker killed in San Benito crash
www.krgv.com
Cyclists in the Rio Grande Valley want drivers to remember the importance of sharing the road.
The message is being shared after 59-year-old Rodrigo Villarreal was killed Wednesday in San Benito after he was struck by a vehicle.
The Texas Department of Public Safety is investigating the crash, adding that the driver who crashed into Villarreal may have been distracted behind the wheel. …
Can Dallas’ trails tell our history and elevate our culture?
By Dallas Morning News Editorial | www.dallasnews.com
A plan in the works shows one possibility.
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Conceptual rendering of a pocket park for the Dallas Cultural Trail. While much of the trail will utilize existing pedestrian infrastructure, pocket parks will be strategically placed along the route to act as wayfinding hubs, sites for new art and interpretative installations, and contribute to larger municipal goals of integrating more park infrastructure throughout the urban core of the city.(Courtesy: Planning Agency)
There’s a lot more to Dallas than business and concrete, but walking through some parts of the city, you might not be able to tell very easily. It doesn’t have to be that way.
There’s a plan brewing to create a walking path through the city connecting some of Dallas’ most significant cultural and historical sites. It’s called the Dallas Cultural Trail, and it would run through the Dallas Arts District, Deep Ellum and Fair Park.
The goal is to curate Dallas’ special moments and put them in context with one another, said Samuel Mortimer, president of Friends of Santa Fe Trail. It’s important to …
Fairfield Police Nab Wanted Man After Brief Bicycle Chase on West Texas Street
by Eileen Vargas | hoodline.com
In a late-night pursuit reminiscent of an alley cat and mouse game, Fairfield’s own Officer Khalfan made a noteworthy collar last week. On December 29, just before the witching hour, Anthony Vaccaro, a 42-year-old local, was spotted cycling suspiciously on the 1800 block of West Texas Street. What might have been just a night ride took a turn as Vaccaro, who was wanted on outstanding warrants for vehicle theft and a probation violation, decided to test the officer’s mettle.
According to the Fairfield, CA Police Department’s Facebook page, Officer Khalfan attempted to …
MPD looking for bike theft suspect
by: Zachary Bordner | www.yourbasin.com
MIDLAND, Texas (KMID/KPEJ) – The Midland Police Department and Midland Crime Stoppers is looking to identify a suspect involved in the theft of a child’s bike late last month.
According to a post by Crime Stoppers, at about 7pm on Friday, December 29th, the suspect took a little girl’s newly gifted bicycle from the patio of an apartment located close to the Wadley and Midland Drive intersection. …
Video: Riesel man indicted in bicyclist’s death
By Tommy Witherspoon | www.kwtx.com
RIESEL, Texas (KWTX) – A Riesel man who authorities say was driving with almost three times the legal limit of alcohol in his blood was indicted Thursday in the September death of a bicyclist.
A McLennan County grand jury indicted Alexander Jeffery Short on an intoxication manslaughter charge, a second-degree felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison.
Short is charged in the Sept. 2, 2023, traffic death of Rudolph Kurtz Diamond, 57, who was struck and killed while riding a bicycle about …
The complete 2024 USA gravel race calendar
Logan Jones-Wilkins | www.globalcyclingnetwork.com
It is no secret that the US gravel scene is booming and 2024 is set to be an even bigger year with races running right across the calendar and events in almost every corner of the nation.
With big landscapes, copious gravel roads and a high demand for getting out into nature, it is an exciting time for those who have been bitten by the gravel bug.
Nevertheless, the gravel calendar is as fast and loose as the racing itself and for many, it can be a challenge to keep track of all the racing opportunities America’s gravel scene has to offer. With races running every weekend from the end of January to the beginning of November – with the exception of Easter weekend – there is a lot of noise that can drown out some of the racing opportunities from around the country. …
… February
Oklahoma Gravel Growler – February 3 – Tecumseh, Oklahoma
Texas Chainring Massacre – February 3 – Valley View, Texas ...
Video: Longview bike shop, running group to hold public trail cleanup Saturday
By Arthur Clayborn and Mack Shaw | www.kltv.com
LONGVIEW, Texas (KLTV) – The only public mountain biking trail in Longview has been in disrepair for some time now, and a bike shop and running group are banding together to give it new life.
Flugers Bike and Outdoor has teamed up with Outlaw Running Group to make the Grace Creek Mountain Bike Trail more accessible for outdoor sports enthusiasts. Starting at 9 a.m. Saturday, the two groups will be working with volunteers from around the area to continue the cleanup.
Dereck Yagle, owner of Flugers, said the volunteers are working to …