CITY OF ARLINGTON , TEXAS
Deficiencies of Existing Bicycle Facilities
• There is an overall lack of on-road bicycle facilities throughout the City of Arlington .
• Adequate and secure bike parking facilities are lacking and need to be located throughout the City through the usage of inverted U-racks .
• Bicyclists were observed not wearing helmets , riding in the wrong direction ( facing traffic ), and crossing roads randomly at mid-block .
• Existing bicycle lanes on Pecan Street are substandard .
Above : Example of a cyclist riding against traffic without a helmet , here along E . Sanford Street .
Strengths of Existing Road Network
• Streets within the Downtown area and UT-Arlington are on a good grid system for all transportation modes and many have low automobile speeds .
• There are significant opportunities for the addition of bicycle lanes through simple striping projects ( existing roadways with wide outside lanes ), restriping projects ( existing roadways in which lanes can be narrowed to accommodate bicycle lanes ), and travel lane conversion projects ( existing roadways operating with excess capacity that could decrease the number of lanes to accommodate bicycle lanes ).
• Alternative residential routes are ideal to busy parallel roads . In many cases , these roads have a wide-2 lane configuration , providing adequate space for bike lanes .
Deficiencies of Existing Road Network
• There are many wide high-volume commercial roadways throughout the City with high speeds and little space for safe bicycling .
There are significant opportunities for the addition of bicycle routes on wide , lower traffic volume roadways ( example roadways shown above on Sherry Street and Tucker Blvd ).
• High frequency of driveways and parking lot curb-cuts present repeated hazards to cyclists as the automobile crosses the cyclists ’ path of travel .
• Many roads were designed around the automobile and need to be redesigned or re-striped to become more bicycle friendly . Narrowing existing lanes could also help reduce speeding and the hazards that speeding presents to cyclists , pedestrians , and drivers .
Above : A bicyclist preparing to cross one of Arlington ’ s many high-volume commercial roadways .
2-8 | Chapter 2 : Current Conditions