Cyclists, drivers and anyone else who uses state highways in Denton County can weigh in until Friday, Nov. 6, on how the Texas Department of Transportation should plan for bikes on those roads.
TxDOT's Dallas District, which covers Denton County along with Collin, Dallas, Ellis, Kaufman, Navarro and Rockwall counties, posted draft recommendations for its Dallas District Bicycle Plan and opened a comment period on Tuesday, Oct. 13. Comments are taken through an online interactive map, not at an in-person meeting.
The plan covers only roads and highways that the state owns and operates. Town streets are not part of it, according to the plan's survey site.
What is on the map
Residents are asked to review three sets of draft recommendations.
The first labels state road segments by the job each one should do for people on bikes. Routes within a mile of schools, recreation centers, senior centers and similar places are marked as all-ages routes, which the survey says should be designed to separate and protect riders from traffic.
Other segments are tagged for daily travel in busy areas, for long-distance and recreational riding, or as basic routes where only occasional cycling is expected. A road with no label is one where TxDOT's analysis did not find a bicycling need or gap.
The second map proposes changes to the bicycle tourism routes from a 2018 state study, including new and realigned routes. Those routes can use local roads as well as state highways.
The third sorts segments into priorities. A small set that scored highest on potential benefits and current needs would become TxDOT's top targets in the district for design work and funding. A second group scored nearly as high but may be harder to improve because of limited space, terrain or other factors.
