Although it's an obscure agency with a funny-sounding acronym, NCTCOG (the North Central Texas Council of Governments) is the 700 pound gorilla when it comes to transportation funding in North Texas. Almost all of the hundreds of millions of dollars of state and federal monies ear-marked for transportation projects get funneled through NCTCOG. Funds awarded by NCTCOG support every aspect of transportation; from rebuilding State Highway 161, to a downtown Dallas streetcar, and the new Dallas Bike Plan.

NCTCOG assists local governments in planning and funding regional transportation development and serves 16 counties centered on Dallas and Fort Worth and includes 165 cities.

NCTCOG is developing its next long-term transportation plan, Mobility 2035, to address transportation needs for the next 25 years. This plan will determine how future transportation funding is allocated and will likely have a big impact our mobility and quality of life. Mobility 2035 will be a blueprint for a comprehensive, modern transportation system for the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

A great thing about NCTCOG is that they, usually, listen. Input from North Texans is important in their decision-making process. Area residents have been invited to provide their input for setting goals and priorities for Mobility 2035. A series of public meetings are scheduled for March 8-10 in Allen, Irving, and Fort Worth. The times and locations are listed on the Transportation Public Meetings flyer. All North Texas residents are also invited to provide input for Mobility 2035 by taking a survey about long-term transportation goals and priorities. The survey is available online through the Mobility 2035 web page.

BikeDFW urges everyone to take this survey, especially if you believe, like we do, that increased bicycling will be important for improved mobility and better quality of life, and that spending billions on more toll roads is not the path to a sustainable future for North Texas.

The Fort Worth City Council voted unanimously to adopt the Bike Fort Worth comprehensive bike plan on Tuesday night (Feb. 9). Fort Worth now becomes only the second major Texas city (Austin is the other), and the first in North Texas, to adopt a comprehensive plan that promotes bicycle transportation and recreation. The vote insures that Bike Fort Worth is adopted into the city's overall comprehensive plan.

Nearly two hundred cycling supporters turned out, many sporting yellow T-shirts, distributed by the LMRA Bicycle Club, or red Fort Worth Bicycling Association jerseys. Statements in support of the plan were presented by John Roberts (president of FWBA), Jim Wilson (president of LMRA Bicycle Club), Ross Stephens (head of Link Our Trails City to City) and others.

City Council members Joel Burns, Carter Burdette, and Daniel Scarth voiced their praise of the plan and thanked the city staff and Ft. Worth citizen volunteers who worked for three years to bring the Bike Fort Worth plan to fruition. Mayor Mike Moncrief also expressed his support and thanks while highlighting the plan's potential for making Fort Worth a more livable city and stressing the importance of linking the Fort Worth system with other cities in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

Needless to say, BikeDFW is ecstatic that the Fort Worth City Council has adopted this plan. Fort Worth has become the leader in bicycle planning in North Texas and we hope that the Bike Fort Worth plan will be a model for other cities.

LMRA Bicycle Club and BikeDFW presidents Jim Wilson
and Marc Mumby before the council meeting.

It seems like a new bike blog springs up almost every day in North Texas. We take this is a positive sign that interest in bicycle transportation, recreation, and livable communities is on the rise. Very cool!

Most of the bike blogs are neighborhood and community based, some of them from groups like Bike Friendly Oak Cliff, and written by dedicated people who keep the content fresh. They are a fantastic way to find bicycling-related news and events going on where you live. The blogs also promote the sort of involvement that is a critical component in bringing about meaningful changes that will make our communities better places to live, work... and ride bikes.

To make viewing them easier, we've added a page where all of the DFW area bike blogs are assembled in one place. The posts are automatically updated when the page is opened and a short preview pops up when you mouse over the links. The Bike Blog page can be found under the DFW Cycling tab. Here's the link, which we encourage you to bookmark.

DFW Bike Blog Roundup

By Marc Mumby

BikeDFW Member and Trail Scout

The High Five interchange between Interstate 635 (LBJ) and US75/Central Expressway is a prominent Dallas landmark. Thousands of cars soar across its overpasses and down its ski slope-like ramps every day. What the drivers, and most other people don't know, is that way down below, a ribbon of concrete skirts along Cottonwood Creek as it meanders under the High Five. Many cyclists have heard of this trail, but few have ever seen it and it has remained a mysterious "bike path to nowhere."

The concrete path under the High Five is part of the Cottonwood Trail project that will eventually link the White Rock Creek Trail with the Preston Ridge Trail in Richardson. Thanks to the foresight of regional transportation planners, construction of the bicycle/pedestrian path was included in the High Five project. Although the High Five, and the path under it, were completed in December of 2005, work on the Cottonwood Trail (which is needed it connect it to something) was delayed until the beginning of this year. I talked to Jared White in the Planning and Design Division of the Dallas Parks and Recreation Department who has been involved in the project for the last 5 years. Mr. White explained that "the delay was due to the sheer complexity of the project and the number of agencies involved." The Cottonwood Creek Trail project is a joint effort of the City of Dallas and Dallas County who coordinate with TXDOT (who built the section under the High Five), Texas Instruments (who owns some of the property where the trail is located), and the City of Richardson to name a few. In addition, sections of the trail run along a flood plain, adding another layer of complexity to the design and construction.

While riding home from work last Saturday, I decided to take a little detour to check out this mysterious path and progress on the Cottonwood Trail. The trail is not officially open, so my two-wheeled excursion into the depths of the High Five required some, umm... creative maneuvering around and over concrete barriers and chain-link fences. I wouldn't recommend trying it unless you're riding fat tires.

Read on for a photo travel log of my trip!

Update on Dec. 2, 2009. Jared White from Dallas Parks and Rec was gracious enough to call back with more details on the time table. The current construction (described under "Read More") is scheduled for completion in March of 2010. Bidding for construction of the southern extension of the trail from Hamilton Park to the White Rock Creek Trail will start in early 2010 with estimated completion in late 2010.