We got an e-mail late last night from Kevin Buchanan, who runs the Fort Worthology blog down in Fort Worth, Texas, with some very good news for that city's streets. Here's what Kevin had to report:
Supporters of Fort Worth's new bike plan packed city council chambers last night. (Photo: Kevin Buchanan)
[A]fter a huge turnout of support from local bike riders, including the newly formed Bike Friendly Fort Worth, the Fort Worth city council unanimously approved the radical new Bike Fort Worth bicycle transportation plan. This plan will, among other things, massively increase Fort Worth's bike infrastructure from its current state of just over 100 miles (emphasis on recreational trails) to nearly 1,000 miles (the vast majority of which will be on-street bike lanes and sharrow routes). Big, big news for Fort Worth's livable streets movement. After the vote, the entire council chamber erupted in a standing ovation.
A couple of days ago, Kevin wrote a post detailing what's in the new plan. It represents an impressive commitment to people who use bicycles for transportation as well as recreation:
Under Bike Fort Worth, it is proposed that the bicycle transportationnetwork be radically enlarged, and a much greater focus be given toon-street infrastructure. Under the proposal, Fort Worth’s bicycletransportation network would increase from the existing 102.6 miles to924.7 miles. 224.7 miles of that would be off-street paths &trails, with the other 700 miles being dedicated to on-streetinfrastructure: 480.3 miles of on-street dedicated bike lanes, 218.3miles of on-street signed routes (sharrow routes), and 1.4 miles of bus& bike-only lanes in Downtown Fort Worth.
This is a huge victory for all the people in Forth Worth who have advocated for more livable streets in that city. Congratulations to Fort Worthology and all the rest of you.
More from around the network: At The Bellows, Ryan Avent has a defense of the vehicle miles traveled tax. Mobilizing the Region reports on how Westchester County, New York, is throwing away opportunities to support bicycling. And readers at Urban Review STL are not impressed with a new speed camera in a school zone there.
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