“As long as I’m the bike coordinator for the city, Dallas will never have on-street bike lanes.”
- PM Summer, Dallas Transportation Alternatives Coordinator/Effective Cycling Instructor
PM Summer apparently believes that bike lanes in the city of Dallas promote mental separation for cyclist, allowing them to think they are above traffic laws and rules. In effect, he thinks less bike lanes are safer for everyone. Wow.
Mr. Summer has some serious irrational issues. Bike lanes, aside from keeping motor vehicles cautious, promote biking. Any cyclist tackling the commute home at night will tell you that riding in the trees on the sidewalk is a slow, dangerous process. Bike lanes allow sharing of the road, especially in sectors of the city where driving is almost absurd. The more bike lanes we have, the more bikers we’ll attract. And biking is always safer in groups. >> via Austin Bike Blog
I rode home from work at night tonight. Thank God for people like PM since I wasn’t stuck in EITHER a dangerous bike lane or riding in the trees on a sidewalk.
In my experience, being part of real traffic works for me AND for the motorists. I’ve got nothing against bike lanes as long as they don’t hurt my rights or increase my probability of getting hit, which they typically do. There is only ONE way I see that Dallas appears to hate people on two wheels – mandatory helmet laws…
DISCLOSURE: I do most of my riding in Tarrant County. I used to live in Seattle. I have no connection with any Government entity. The only place I’ve ever had an accident in Texas was when turning onto a bike path when the ground was wet.
I think the “mandatory helmet laws” are hardly mandatory. I hear White Rock Lake is pretty strict but other than that, I’ve had no issues with the man riding around the Central/Greenville/SMU area. In regards to the bike lane, how does riding in a recognized group of bikes in a designated bike lane increase the probability of getting hit? I do however think bikers taking on the road for the first time should be knowledgeable on automobile and cycling traffic rules of the road. The blame is on both parties. Whether you drive or you bike, being uneducated about either is the biggest mistake.