Tag Archives: bicycles

Creating a bike plan for the city

Posted on January 2, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Moving forward. It would be hard to argue that bicycling in Houston is not on the upswing, with many millions of dollars approved and numerous policies passed in recent years, all aimed at welcoming and protecting riders. City planners and … Continue reading →

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Heights bike trail connection update

Posted on December 14, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Good news from Swamplot: OVER THANKSGIVING weekend city workers opened a portion of the proposed hike-and-hike trail that will one day link downtown and Acres Homes. Work began last October on this new section, one that heads west from the … Continue reading →

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Getting more people to use B-Cycle

Posted on November 8, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Houston’s B-Cycle program has been a big success overall, but not in all locations. Despite the growth, however, few of the nearly 70,000 checkouts between January and mid-October are coming from three B-Cycle stations specifically placed to expand the system … Continue reading →

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Downtown dedicated bike lane delayed a bit

Posted on October 23, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Aiming for the end of the year now. Conversion of a traffic lane on Lamar into Houston’s main bike route through downtown has been delayed as officials finalize plans and wait for in-demand humps known as “armadillos” to arrive. Department … Continue reading →

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A bike lane to connect to bike trails

Posted on September 6, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Makes sense. Houston may get its first protected on-street bike route as early as October, as city officials prepare to convert a lane of Lamar Street downtown into a two-way cycling path connecting the popular Buffalo Bayou trails west of … Continue reading →

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Biking in Dallas

Posted on August 3, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

They’re pretty far behind other Texas cities in infrastructure and general bike-ability. City leaders, including Mayor Mike Rawlings, are eager to boost Big D’s cycling options — and soon. They’re looking at everything from more bike lanes to off-street trails, … Continue reading →

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Bikes on buses update

Posted on July 21, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Keeps going up. More METRO bus rides are bringing along their bicycles to complete their trip and get from point A to point B. In June, the number of bikes on buses hit a record 21,941, a 32 percent increase … Continue reading →

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B-Cycle keeps racking up good numbers

Posted on July 18, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Great to see. From meager beginnings, Houston’s bikesharing program has blossomed into a big draw for visitors and locals looking for a quick ride. For the first six months of 2014, Houston B-Cycle logged 43,530 checkouts, according to agency data. … Continue reading →

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City strikes two deals with CenterPoint

Posted on June 2, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

One on street lights, and one on bike trails. Both are great news. All 165,000 of Houston’s streetlights will be converted to more efficient LEDs over the next five years, halving electricity use and cutting air pollution in what Mayor … Continue reading →

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Redefining residential streets

Posted on May 29, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Streets are about more than just cars. Where the rubber will meet the road on this, as it were, is on busy residential streets like Dunlavy in Montrose, where new city planning codes will have an effect. Dunlavy is, at … Continue reading →

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More on the Metro bus system reimagining

Posted on May 27, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Christopher Andrews has a practical look at Metro’s reimagined bus network. Nearly two weeks ago METRO released the System Reimagining proposal, arguably the biggest service adjustment in METRO’s existence. METRO is currently welcoming feedback on the system. I hope most … Continue reading →

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The other three foot rule

Posted on May 4, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

This is a little bold for my taste. A Houston bicyclist is testing a year-old safety ordinance intended to ensure motorists don’t get closer than three feet from riders. While riding in the designated bike lanes of the Memorial area … Continue reading →

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Enabling bike parking at restaurants

Posted on May 3, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Good to see this effort is making progress. It has taken some time, but a community effort to add bike racks in the Heights is seeing results. Heights resident Mitch Cohen has placed two racks along 19th Street this year … Continue reading →

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Medical Center mobility

Posted on April 30, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

The problems they face today pale in comparison to the problems they will face in the future. Already the world’s largest medical complex, the Texas Medical Center is poised to get much bigger, prompting a raft of ideas ranging from … Continue reading →

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Uptown BRT update

Posted on April 14, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

From Swamplot: HERE ARE SOME of the purty watercolor renderings the Uptown District has been presenting of what Post Oak Blvd. will look like after the addition of 2 dedicated bus lanes down its middle. The proposed changes to the … Continue reading →

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First Sunday Streets seemed like a success

Posted on April 10, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

The weather was kinda lousy but there were plenty of people out on White Oak Street on Sunday. The city of Houston closed a 2.5 mile stretch of Quitman and White Oak to motor vehicles for four hours on Sunday, … Continue reading →

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Goal Zero Fatalities plan for bikes adopted

Posted on March 27, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

From the Mayor’s office: Mayor Annise Parker today announced the City and BikeHouston are joining forces to launch a major bike safety campaign to enforce and educate motorists and cyclists about the existing Safe Passing Ordinance, as well as create … Continue reading →

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Street closings ahead

Posted on March 12, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

This ought to be interesting. Three busy Houston streets will shut down to vehicular traffic on selected Sunday afternoons in an effort to see if car-bound residents will walk, bike and explore each block rather than simply drive through. The … Continue reading →

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Metro reports an increase in boardings with bikes

Posted on March 10, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: The number of people using bikes to extend their bus trips (or vice versa) increased more than 47 percent jumping from 12,111 bike bus boardings in January 2013 to 17,859 in January this year, That’s according to … Continue reading →

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End of year B-Cycle report

Posted on January 8, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

B-Cycle has been in Houston for nine months, having launched in early April. So far, it’s done pretty well. The B-Cycle system’s 29th station was christened earlier this month in front of Clayton Homes. Officials said they hoped to provide … Continue reading →

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We still need to do more to protect bike riders

Posted on December 13, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

The story of Chelsea Norman just breaks my heart. They call it the “ghost bike.” It is painted completely white, even the tires, and chained to a street post in Montrose. The shrine near West Gray and Waugh marks where … Continue reading →

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Austin B-Cycle coming

Posted on December 8, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Took ’em long enough. Service will launch Dec. 21 with 110 bikes and 11 stations, including one sponsored by the Chronicle. The full project will be completed by March 1, 2014, with expanded stations planned to service the UT-Austin campus, … Continue reading →

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Complete Streets coming

Posted on October 13, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

This is good to see. Houston, long ruled by the automobile, will give more consideration to the needs of pedestrians and cyclists in designing its streets and neighborhoods. Mayor Annise Parker on Thursday said she is drafting, with public works … Continue reading →

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Improving bike-to-transit

Posted on September 22, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

I wish them luck. A group of Rice University students is working with various community groups and Metropolitan Transit Authority officials to better integrate cycling and public transit, as the city’s bike-sharing system prepares for another expansion. Make no mistake: … Continue reading →

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Six new B-Cycle locations announced

Posted on September 8, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

From the B-Cycle monthly newsletter: 6 NEW B-stations coming this month! We are happy to announce our new locations! When we launched our pilot program in May of 2012 we were anxious and excited to see how Houston would respond … Continue reading →

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More on Metro’s bus strategy

Posted on September 6, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

The anticipated “re-imagining” of Metro’s bus service is underway. The “new” Metro is still prioritizing things in an old way, splitting its priorities evenly between ridership growth and coverage to areas where officials know the bus provides the only viable … Continue reading →

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Heights-area bike trails to be linked

Posted on August 29, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Excellent news. Houston’s expanding trail system will soon gain a new leg in the greater Heights area. The addition will be part of Bayou Greenways 2020, a $215 million project aimed at creating a continuous network of hike-and-bike trails and … Continue reading →

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Texas cities embracing bicycles

Posted on August 27, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

It’s a good thing. In Fort Worth, the mayor hosts occasional bicycle rides called “Rolling Town Halls.” The Dallas City Council could may soon require new businesses to set aside space for bicycle parking. Over in El Paso, officials are … Continue reading →

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On closing Main Street to cars downtown

Posted on August 3, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Houston Tomorrow runs a post by Kyle Nielsen that he originally published in May advocating for more of Main Street downtown to be like Main Street Square, that is, closed to automotive traffic. What if we were to close Main … Continue reading →

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More construction on Yale

Posted on July 20, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

It’s Alexan Heights II: Midrise Boogaloo. For residents near Yale and 6th street, Independence Day fireworks were nothing compared to the sparks flying when news of another proposed apartment complex came to light July 5. A heads-up notification from District … Continue reading →

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On using B-Cycle

Posted on July 10, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron had a nice lifestyle section story about B-Cycle last week. B-cycles are appearing all over downtown and Midtown. You may have seen them, parked at racks with self-serve kiosks, where riders are able to enter their payment information, … Continue reading →

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Chron wonders where B-Cycle is going

Posted on June 25, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Last week in an unsigned editorial, the Chron asked a provocative question about B-Cycle. Are bicycle rental programs supposed to be legitimate transportation or merely toys for urban bohemians? New York Times writer Ginia Bellafante revealed Friday that her city’s … Continue reading →

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Bike trails bill signed

Posted on May 21, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron has a brief blurb about Rick Perry signing the bill that will allow the CenterPoint rights of way in Harris County to be used as hike and bike trails. See here for the background, and here for a … Continue reading →

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Council approves safe passing ordinance

Posted on May 9, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

From the press release: Mayor Annise Parker and Houston City Council Members today unanimously approved an ordinance to protect Houston’s cyclists and other vulnerable road users by requiring cars and other motor vehicles to keep a separation of more than … Continue reading →

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