Staff Reports | tylerpaper.com
Tyler’s mayor and City Council are supporting a statewide competition that encourages communities to live healthy lifestyles.
Mayor Martin Heines and members of the council signed a pledge to support the program, called “It’s Time Texas,†at their regular meeting Wednesday morning. …
By Jimmy Isaac | www.news-journal.com
Property acquisition or public meetings are on the horizon this year for as many as four area road projects.
The state has more than half of the rights of way needed for the Phase 1 widening of Harrison Road, and the project is targeted for bids in August 2019, said Vernon Webb, district engineer with the Tyler office of the Texas Department of Transportation.
Webb spoke Wednesday at the meeting of the Longview Metropolitan Planning Organization Policy Board. …
… In other business, the board revised the 2017-20 Transportation Improvement Plan to include bicycle and pedestrian paths in Longview and White Oak.
How many times has a plastic bag blown across your path while bicycling to get caught in a wheel or chain?
By Michael King | www.austinchronicle.com
Laredo law banning single-use bags goes to court
The Texas Supreme Court will hear oral arguments this morning (Thu., Jan. 11) in the case styled City of Laredo v. Laredo Merchants Association. In brief, the city of Laredo enacted a partial ban on single-use bags in 2015. (Austin enacted a similar law in 2013.) The Merchants Association sued, unsuccessfully at trial court, but the law was overturned by the Court of Appeals, on the grounds that the ban violated a state law pre-empting such local ordinances passed for “solid-waste purposes.” Laredo is arguing that its ordinance is intended to address litter control, protect the utility system, reduce flooding, and protect wildlife and rivers, and thus does not conflict with the state law. …
… Some retailers also object to the argument that the bags are beneficial. “Although it’s retailers in Laredo who are suing to erase this protection,” said Hill Abell of Austin’s Bicycle Sport Shop, “as a retailer with five Central Texas stores I know for a fact that not only are single-use bags not necessary for my business, they cost retailers a ton.” …
By Paul Flahive | www.marketplace.org
Strava interface shows San Antonio data
“Excuse us, there’s a lot of us,†said Rick Turnbill as he and a dozen other cyclists weave through cars and pedestrians in downtown San Antonio.
“Who else can ride around the Alamo on their weekly ride?†asked Turnbill.
While he loves this route, Turnbill said the city needs more bike infrastructure to protect cyclists from motorists. Cities across the country are struggling to keep roads safe for bikes as cycling becomes more and more popular for commuting and recreation. …
www.chron.com & www.statesman.com
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Imagine Lady Bird Lake without a mantle of green wrapped around its shores.
The Austin American-Statesman reports Austinites whose memories reach back to the early 1960s — when the newly impounded body of water on the Colorado River was dubbed Town Lake by an American-Statesman reporter because nobody else bothered to name it — can envision such a treeless state.
“They removed all the trees in 1958 to reduce flooding,” remembers Leslie “Les” Gage, a former City Council member who co-chaired the 1970s committee to create a hike-and-bike trail around the lake. “They were taken away everywhere except …
Tim Mooney | pedalshift.net
Winter, as we all know, is the time of year when viruses, colds and flu symptoms are at their highest. But it’s not just winter: almost everyone at some point has to handle being sick on bike tour. On this edition of the pod, we cover tips to prevent and fight back against being sick on bike tour.
Texas Bicycling from Twitter
New Event Added to Texbiker.net Calendar
