This morning’s Bike to City Hall event — part of Dallas’ week-long bicycling event, Cyclesomatic — was a great success!  I was worried it was going to rain and have to be postponed, but luckily, the weather agreed with us, and we had a terrific turn-out.

My husband and I biked from our home in the M Streets, down the Katy Trail (where we met others heading to City Hall), then met with the larger group at Union Station.  There were well over a hundred cyclists, from road warriors to slow riders to everyone in between.  Bicyclists came from East Dallas, Oak Cliff, Plano, Uptown, University Park, and elsewhere.  Five other councilmembers joined in the fun — Pauline Medrano, Sheffie Kadane, Jerry Allen, Dave Neumann, Delia Jasso, and Ann Margolin.

At around 8:30 a.m., we rode from Union Station to City Hall, where our master of ceremonies, Jason Roberts, thanked everyone for coming.  All the councilmembers welcomed the group to City Hall and discussed the importance of creating a more bicycle-friendly city via better infrastructure and education.

I mentioned the city’s new bike plan update as well as our complete streets initiative, to create a multi-modal infrastructure that isn’t solely focused on moving cars, but is rebalanced to move cyclists, pedestrians, and the disabled in an inviting, safe way.

We also reassured our road warrior friends that separated bike facilities would not force cyclists to ride there: cyclists who feel comfortable in traffic will continue to have that option.  We just want to expand options for folks who may have a different tolerance and comfort level in traffic.  It’s all about options, education, safety, and better infrastructure.

My hat is off to Jason Roberts and his team who did an amazing job planning this event.  I look forward to seeing everyone next year, as we begin to transform Dallas from one of the worst cities for cyclists into one of the best.

In the meantime, enjoy these pictures!

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