Tag Archives: bicycles

Next B-Cycle expansion approved

Posted on December 9, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Good. Expansion of Houston’s bike sharing system is pretty much in high gear after City Council on Wednesday signed off on a $4.1 million plan to roughly triple the number of bikes and kiosks. With the agreement in place, local … Continue reading →

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Next B-Cycle expansion announced

Posted on August 29, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: Houston’s bike share system, Houston B-cycle, will more than triple in size over the next two years, adding 71 stations with 568 bikes. The expansion will be paid for with federal grant dollars. “The expansion of the … Continue reading →

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City bike plan finalized

Posted on June 24, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Here it comes. Bicycling advocates – fresh off finalizing a plan for Houston’s bike future – face the challenge of getting formal city approval of their ideas as they incrementally piece together what could be a $500 million investment. Changing … Continue reading →

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Uptown BRT construction officially begins

Posted on June 12, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Here we go. Crews are relocating trees in preparation for two years of construction, starting in July. The Uptown Dedicated Bus Lanes Project will unfold in three phases, moving from north to south and starting with the West Loop to … Continue reading →

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My vision for Metro: Buses

Posted on May 31, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

I’ve said before that I would have some suggestions for new Metro Board Chair Carrin Patman and her team as they take their places. This post is where I start sharing those suggestions. The idea is to focus on proposals … Continue reading →

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Meet the toucan light

Posted on April 16, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

The first of its kind in Houston, though maybe not the last. The new traffic signal suspended above Appel at Yale and Seventh is a first for Texas, but also an adjustment for residents – some of whom are unsure … Continue reading →

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What do you do with a problem like I-10?

Posted on March 28, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

From a conversation that Cite Editor Raj Mankad conducted with Andrew Albers and Ernesto Alfaro, who co-teach a survey of landscape architecture at the Rice School of Architecture. Mankad: Let’s come back to I-10 and the failure of its… Alfaro: … Continue reading →

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The Purple City plan for I-45

Posted on March 22, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Check it out. Should a major freeway plan consider the needs of cyclists? Of transit riders? And if we’re going to tear down and reconstruct the entire downtown freeway network of the fourth-largest city in America, shouldn’t the final result … Continue reading →

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Electric bikes

Posted on March 16, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

I don’t know. Hundreds of local residents over the weekend strapped on helmets to ride motorized bikes as a way to showcase yet another way for Houstonians to traverse the city’s often congested streets. The free promotional rides at Rice … Continue reading →

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More on the draft bike plan

Posted on March 10, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

From the Chron. The Houston Bike Plan identifies $300 million to $500 million in improvements aimed at encouraging cycling and bringing more accessibility to every corner of the city via paths, off-street trails and safer lanes where cyclists share the … Continue reading →

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The draft bike plan is out

Posted on February 22, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Here it is, in all its glory. I encourage you to look at the draft plan and play with the interactive map. Then, when you start to feel overwhelmed and wish someone would explain it all to you, go read … Continue reading →

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Turner wants to rethink transportation

Posted on February 17, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

I like the way he’s thinking. Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, in less than a month on the job, has hit the streets at full speed. First he tackled potholes. Last week he tackled a state transportation department that’s spent the … Continue reading →

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Houston Tomorrow presents its Vision Zero plan

Posted on January 19, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Here you go. Following other “vision zero” programs nationally, Houston Tomorrow encouraged officials – especially Houston lawmakers – to crack down on speeding and distracted driving while investing more in rebuilding streets so that vehicles can share them safely with … Continue reading →

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B-Cycle’s 100,000 rides

Posted on January 10, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Okay, almost 100,000. Still impressive. Houston’s growing bike sharing system – poised for a big 2016 – nearly pulled off 100,000 checkouts last year. After adding two stations in the last weeks of the year, bringing the total to 31 … Continue reading →

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Bike safety is also car safety

Posted on January 1, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

It’s been two years since bicyclist Chelsea Norman was killed by drunk hit-and-run driver Margaret Mayer. The city has taken numerous steps to help make the streets safer for bicyclists. How are we doing on that? “I personally don’t feel … Continue reading →

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What people use B-Cycle for

Posted on November 18, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

From Rice University: A new report from Rice University’s Kinder Institute for Urban Research finds that Sun Belt city residents are most likely to use bike-share programs for recreation, compared with users in the Midwest or Northeast, who regularly use … Continue reading →

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Uptown living

Posted on November 7, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

It’s a thing that is happening. Home to the city’s glittering epicenter of retail, with a dramatic skyline dominated by the towering Williams Tower and other office buildings, Uptown Houston is best known for the places where people work and … Continue reading →

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San Antonio implements Vision Zero

Posted on September 27, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Good for them. Tuesday marked the official launch of San Antonio’s Vision Zero, a multi-national awareness and educational initiative that calls for zero traffic fatalities. It’s a lofty goal, but proponents of the plan say these deaths, especially those of … Continue reading →

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B-Cycle expansion coming

Posted on September 26, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Good. Houston area officials are investing hundreds of millions of dollars into widening Interstate 45, and they could be paying much more for even larger upcoming projects along the corridor. But a comparatively-paltry sum is about to boost bike sharing … Continue reading →

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Bayou trails update

Posted on September 6, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Coming along nicely. Houston’s Bayou Greenways 2020 initiative will build 150 miles of hike and bike trails along the city’s nine waterways, a $220 million effort that Mayor Annise Parker says is “one of the most exciting things I’ve had … Continue reading →

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Connecting trails

Posted on August 3, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Always good to see. The Houston Parks and Recreation Department and Houston Parks Board recently celebrated the completion of the White Oak Bayou Path, the first in a series of projects creating a more connected system of hike-and-bike trails in … Continue reading →

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Pushing for Vision Zero

Posted on July 8, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Jay Crossley opines in the Chron for a lower speed limit in Houston. Texas law requires a 30 mph speed limit in the city of Houston on local residential streets unless a different speed limit is posted. If you are … Continue reading →

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Your input for the Bike Plan requested

Posted on June 21, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

I’ve written before about the Bike Plan the city is currently working on, to improve all facets of bike travel in Houston. This effort, now in Phase 2 of 6, depends heavily on input from the public, and the time … Continue reading →

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Bike plan meetings

Posted on May 24, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

From CM Ed Gonzalez: Our city has made great strides in improving people’s ability to bike to more destinations. New trails are being built along our bayous, new protected bikeways have been installed, and more people are riding all over … Continue reading →

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Bikes now allowed on light rail all day

Posted on May 17, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Some good news from the inbox: METRORail is opening its doors to bikes during all regular service hours just in time for Houston’s Bike to Work Day observance, Friday, May 15, 2015. The new hours are made possible with the … Continue reading →

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B-Cycle’s future

Posted on April 25, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

There’s some trouble in San Antonio. San Antonio B-Cycle could be on the verge of following rideshare and disappearing from the San Antonio landscape, multiple sources have told the Rivard Report, unless it can win the local government, corporate and … Continue reading →

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One way to lower speed limits

Posted on March 30, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Purple City makes an interesting observation. One of the quieter actions of the late Parker administration has been to slowly alter speed limits from 35 or 40mph to 30mph. These reductions aren’t based on an engineering study or field measurements, … Continue reading →

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Uptown needs bikes

Posted on February 23, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

So says this op-ed. Always susceptible to gridlock, especially at Christmastime, the traffic jams now happen year-round and last longer each day. Clearly, Uptown badly needs convenient, reliable alternatives to cars for the tens of thousands of workers and residents … Continue reading →

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Metro board approves reimagining

Posted on February 13, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

On to implementation. Metro’s board gave unanimous, final approval to the so-called reimagining plan, authorizing agency staff to plan public meetings to explain the changes. Between now and August, Metro must replace every sign at every bus stop, revise every … Continue reading →

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2015 Mayoral manifesto: Transportation

Posted on February 4, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Preliminaries Please note that I have called this part of my manifesto “Transportation” and not “Traffic”. I agree that traffic sucks and that the Mayoral candidates ought to have some ideas for how to deal with it. It’s my opinion … Continue reading →

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Heights-Northside mobility study

Posted on January 15, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Mostly of interest for folks in my area, here’s the city’s report on mobility for neighborhoods in the upper left quadrant of the Inner Loop. Final Report: Heights-Northside Sub-regional Mobility Study The Planning and Development Department, in partnership with the … Continue reading →

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Safe passing law update

Posted on January 11, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

The city of Houston has an ordinance requiring vehicles to give bikes a three-foot buffer on the streets. How much of an effect has it had so far? A law authorizing police to ticket drivers for encroaching on bicyclists and … Continue reading →

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How does a 25 MPH speed limit for downtown Houston grab you?

Posted on January 8, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Christopher Andrews makes the case in Gray Matters: Does anyone know the speed limit in downtown Houston? Probably not. Casual observation shows speeds there normally range anywhere from gridlock to Gran Prix. I don’t believe there are any speed-limit signs. … Continue reading →

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Neighborhood Greenways

Posted on January 5, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

I really like this idea. Complete Streets means that our local governments prioritize the safety and comfort of all a street’s users regardless of age, ability, or mode of transport. Fixing our streets will be a long-term project, but if … Continue reading →

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