Bike Friendly Garland is here!

Bike Friendly Garland, Texas

Although Garland, Texas has a long way to go before becoming bike friendly, there is a group of people who are now trying to change that.

On the outer edges of Dallas and Richardson, with it's wealthier cousins Plano and Allen to the north, exists a city of blue collar grit that has been virtually been left behind in all of the recent developments of the last 30 years or so in North Texas. In this case, left behind is sort of a good thing, because the it's bones still resonate traces of a time where there were more pedestrians and bicyclists on the road. It's downtown area is virtually shut down after 5pm, but you can still see the beauty of what it once was. The old Plaza theater, the hand painted murals on the walls, the mom and pop coffee shops. Surburban Assault even wrote an article about car-centric Garland and the irony that it's downtown was very bike friendly. All roads leading into downtown garland are residential. There is no major freeway running alongside the downtown area. Downtown Garland is in the middle of a city which is landlocked by 3 major freeways and one toll road. For this reason, the term "Garland is Car-land" is regularly used by locals to refer to it's lack of bike friendliness.  But that's all about to change.

Bike Friendly Garland is out there to show that it is possible to get around the city of Garland by bicycle. Among it's group goals are to promote and facilitate bicycle ridership, educate people about the rules of the road and seek support from the City of Garland to make improvements for safer and complete streets. 

On October 28, 2012, Bike Friendly Garland will have it's first inaugural ride to kick off the group and to get the ball rolling on the task at hand. Here is an event flyer from their page with details on when this event will take place.

If you are a north Texas local, I encourage you to show up and give these guys your support. Their task is a seemingly big one, since Garland is a seemingly large city. But if everyone works together, I believe that Bike Friendly Garland will have success in their goals and will have the necessary support to carry them out. My best wishes to Bike Friendly Garland in their endeavors.