Texas Bike News Digest December 17th 2020
Houston has a plan to end road fatalities. Now the work to implement it begins.
Dug Begley | www.houstonchronicle.com
Houston has a plan to end roadway deaths. Now comes the hard part: pulling it off.
Mayor Sylvester Turner, joined by various department heads and city council members, announced Wednesday that the city has finished 14 months of work on its Vision Zero Action Plan, aimed at eliminating traffic deaths in Houston by 2030. The booklet provided for the plan starts off, Turner noted, with 1,153 names and ages — those killed in crashes since 2014 around Houston.
“Each of their names is one too many traffic deaths,†Turner said, touting the need to improve, not only safety for drivers, but anyone who uses the streets to walk, bicycle or travel by wheelchair or transit. …
… * build at least 25 miles of dedicated bike lanes annually; …
CYCLING NEEDS – East End residents, organizers work toward bikeabilitywww.houstonchronicle.com
By Julie Garcia |
A cluster of 30 bicyclists gathered beneath a gray sky, as raindrops splashed against their helmets. Not ideal conditions for a long and winding bike ride, but these cyclists — organizers and community members from across the East End — were on a mission. They would pedal through their corner of the city, logging mental notes about how safe they felt along the way.
Their feedback is crucial as Houston, and the East End in particular, work toward becoming more bikeable.
Cycling is not new to Houston, but it’s more mainstream now than ever, said Bryan Brown, senior planner for the county’s engineering department. And …
BSS now trek
By skinned elbows | austinmountainbiking.com
Just got an email bicycle Sport Shop is being bought by Trek… I wonder how that is going to impact what they stock.
Congrats to the owners they will be riding off in the sunset on their new gold-plated Trek Bicycles … read the comments
End of a long ride for local bike shop owner
Ken Herman | www.statesman.com
Laura Agnew, front, and husband Hill Abell, owners of Austin’s Bicycle Sport Shop, ride trails at Big Bend Ranch State Park during the Chihuahuan Desert Bike Festival. The couple on Thursday announced the sale of Bicycle Sport Shop to Trek.
More sad news for a sad year on the local business front.
Bicycle Sport Shop, the longtime cycling shop of choice for many cyclists, including me, is being sold into a future that’s sure to mean changes at what many locals have found to be a friendly and helpful place to do bike business.
The announcement came Thursday from owners Hill Abell and Laura Agnew. They’re selling to industry heavyweight Trek.
“Since taking the reins at Bicycle Sport Shop 35 years ago, we’ve been fortunate to find success serving Austin’s cycling community by sharing our passion for riding, putting our customers first, and creating a welcoming environment for …
Allen to spend $1.5M on three new bike trail segments near Ridgeview Drive
By Brandi Addison | www.dallasnews.com
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As part of a city master plan to connect residents across all of Allen by hiking and biking trails, the city will bring three new trail segments to its more than 78 miles of existing trails.
Allen City Council approved the $1.49 million expenditure during the Dec. 8 meeting. The new segments are planned along Ridgeview Drive at the Allen STEAM Center and Spirit Park, in addition to a new loop trail to connect subdivisions near Cinemark.
The segment near the Allen STEAM Center will be a boardwalk-style trail that provides connection points to the future Stephen G. Terrell Recreation Center, according to a release from the city. The …
Marshall ISD students to get new bicycles, helmets from ‘Read to Ride’
By Bridget Ortigo | www.marshallnewsmessenger.com
Marshall ISD elementary students who met their reading goals last spring as part of Mission Marshall’s “Read to Ride†reading improvement program for third graders, will soon receive new bicycles and helmets.
William B. Travis Elementary School and Price T. Young Elementary School students who earned new bicycles and helmets last spring after meeting their reading goals as part of “Read to Ride†are now able to pick up their new bicycles and helmets from the schools. Sam Houston Elementary School and David Crockett Elementary School plan to have …
Made in Texas: Tomii Cycles
ARIELLE AVILA | www.texasmonthly.com
Japanese native Nao Tomii applies his sculpting background to the handmade bikes he produces at his Austin workshop.
Though bikes are commonly used for commuting in Nao Tomii’s hometown of Niigata, Japan, it wasn’t until after the artist moved to Boston for college and later connected with the cycling community there that he was struck by how similar bike frames are to sculptures. While working for a sculpting company that produced everything from bronze statues to fiberglass dinosaurs, Tomii, now 42, started experimenting with making bikes. He founded Tomii Cycles in 2012 and, tired of the cold, moved to Austin two years later. His workshop offers a custom option as …
Jingle Bike Ride reset for Friday
baytownsun.com
The Baytown Mayor and Council Jingle Bike Ride is now set for 6:30 p.m. Friday, starting at W. Pearce St. This is on the backside of Town Square, 213 W. Texas Avenue. The ride will end at the same location.
The ride was initially supposed to take place Dec. 11, but rain forced it to be canceled. The ride is followed by Christmas Movie Night at 7:30 p.m. The movies being shown are a Mickey Mouse short film and “Frozen 2.â€
Video: Safety improvements at popular East Austin trail crossing hit a speed bump
by Melanie Torre | cbsaustin.com
AUSTIN, Texas — Cyclists are pushing for safety improvements at a dangerous East Austin crossing. People using the Walnut Creek Hike and Bike trail near Walter E. Long Lake have two options– they can bail on the trail or risk their lives crossing Decker Lane.
The Texas Department of Transportation has plans to make the crossing safer, but so far those have hit a speed bump.
“It’s a really great trail,†says Ali Vatter, who lives in East Austin and …
Cyclist shares concerns, videos of near-misses with cars
By: Seth Kovar | www.kristv.com
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Some drivers apparently don’t like sharing the road with cyclists.
“People pull up next to me and say, ‘Hey idiot, get on the sidewalk," cyclist Lee Pradia said. "But I’m in the bike lane."
Pradia says Corpus Christi needs more bike lanes, and that the city needs to better maintain those it has.
But he says the biggest issue he and other cyclists face is that lots of …
Two Weeks Left in 2020 to Meet My Bicycling Goal
A DUDE ABIKES | adudeabikes.com
Tonight’s ride was planned to be 20 miles again and began after dark because I required a siesta. Someone pounded on the door this morning while I was still slumbering away, getting my beauty sleep. And I resisted going because it was chilly. Still, I found the correct combination of layers the allow me to not be too drenched in sweat or freezing. For Texas, at least. But my ride ended early because I was on a sidewalk of a busy street with narrow bike lanes full of debris. A small car lot had blocked the way, so I had to go off a curb. And …