Oklahoma City

[caption id="" align=“alignright” width=“281” caption=“Photo By: Pioneer Library System”][/caption]

For the past year, I have participated in a few 30 Days of Biking events.  I truly love participating in these events and it reminds me of how much I love cycling.  Lately, I have thought about my days in Chicago.  My bicycle was my only means of transportation and it was incredibly liberating.  I began to wonder how that experience would work in Oklahoma City, where car is king.  I know car-free people who get around Oklahoma City just fine, but they have a 9 to 5, Monday through Friday schedules and are near bus routes.  I neither work a 9 to 5 schedule nor have bus routes available.  After I first returned to Oklahoma City after years in Chicago, I thought going car-free would be impossible.  Now that I feel more comfortable cycling in Oklahoma City, I feel like it might just be possible and enjoyable to be car-free.  So, I thought a fun experiment would be to attempt a month of car-free living right here in the Wild West.

There is now one known velomobile gracing Oklahoma City.  News9 put together a story last night about the custom-built machine of Frans van der Merwe who uses the machine to commute back and forth to Guthrie (which is at least a 25 mile ride each way).  According to the story, he averages about 25-30 mph on his rides which really makes me jealous.  See the whole piece below:

With more than a little controversy, the Oklahoma City Council has approved a timeline for all the MAPS 3 projects. Included in this timeline for the 57 miles of new bicycle trails included in the MAPS projects:

Trails

• Fifty-seven miles of trails for walking, cycling and other outdoor activities are planned. The locations of the trails are still being worked out, but they expect to make use of lakes and other well-used areas of the city. They will be built in three phases beginning in 2013.

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Sorry folks, but I’m back to playing catch up.  Firstly, the Oklahoma City Council is holding the public hearing phase on the major changes to the city’s bicycle ordinances.  The meeting is occurring today starting at 8:30 AM in the City Council Chamber on the 3rd floor of 200 N. Walker.

As you can see from the full agenda, there is a lot of ground being covered so I can’t really say when the ordiances will changes will be considered.  If it happens when I happen to have a free moment, I will be live tweeting the discussion at @okcbicyclist.

While the Old Route 66 Bridge along Lake Overholser is undergoing much needed deck repair, cyclists have been forced to take an unappealing detour along busy 39th street to cross over the Lake Overholser spillway.  To help make this passage safer, Oklahoma City has placed signs such as the one shown right on both sides of 39th street and have run street sweepers along the detour route.  While I did still see quite a bit of debris still on the shoulder, the route is much much clearer than before and it very passable.

Ray H. has reported that his 2010 Cervelo S3 was stolen out of his garage near NW 50th and Portland.  The bicycle has a 54 cm frame with SRAM S60 wheels and Dura-Ace components.  The Serial Number for the bike is: SNS3C10E00336.  Below is a picture of the bike in question:

If you have any information at all regarding this bicycle, please fill out the form below!  Thanks.

Today, at 1:30 PM, the Oklahoma City Traffic and Transportation Commission will consider a recommendation to make several large changes to the city’s cycling ordinances.  In brief, the changes consist of the following:

1. The proposal would allow cyclists to have full use of the lane on any road designated as a bicycle route.  A bicycle route is a designated piece of a road way primarily consisting of the 200 miles of bike routes laid out in the city’s cycling master plan, not just a road containing a “Share the Road” sign.
2. In relation to the proposal above, the ordinance would specifically state that a vehicle would be required to fully change lanes to over take the cyclist on designated bicycle routes.  If there is no room, to change lanes, the vehicle would be required to yield to the bicycle as a piece of normal traffic and comply with “all traffic control devices and pavement markings which prohibit lane changes.”
3. Limits the conditions upon which more than two people can ride upon a bicycle.
4. Broadens the places where cyclists can park their bicycles on sidewalks.
5. Limit the use of “tall handlebars” (handlebars taller than 12 inches) except upon recumbent bicycles.

The full documentation for the proposed changes by Mr. Randall Entz of the Planning Department, can be found at the Meeting Agenda website: http://www.okc.gov/AgendaPub/meeting.aspx?cabinet=published_meetings&docid=30140.  If approved by the Traffic Commission, the proposal would then move to the full city counsel for consideration.  The meeting agenda does allow for public comments from citizens.  The meeting will be held at the City Council Chambers, 3rd Floor, 200 N. Walker.

At today’s commission meeting, the Oklahoma City Traffic and Transportation Commission unanimously recommended passage of the proposed cycling ordinance changes (see details here).  The proposed changes will now move to the full City Council for consideration.

In case you are really bored, not living in Oklahoma and would like to spend some time watching snow fall, I present Snowpocalypse Cam. You too can watch a really fuzzy image for hours on end, enjoy!

Watch live streaming video from radicalwacko at livestream.com

In a case that is bound to cause an uproar with those who hated the signs to begin with, the excellent new “use full lane” signs are now being replaced with a newer version.  The phrase “use full lane” is being replaced with “may use full lane”, which admittedly is much clearer.  KFOR put together a piece about the new signs:

The cost to correct this error is $18,000.  It should be noted that the city council appears to be full behind the new signs despite recent rumors to the contrary.  However, the Oklahoma Bicycling Coalition is wisely encouraging local cyclists to contact their city counsel member and thank them for supporting this new effort.  It can be counted upon that they will be hearing angry complaints from other parties.