Biking news

It may be tempting, but Dallas insists motorists refrain from throwing things atunicyclists

Apparently unicycling is a thing at Emory University in Atlanta.
Bike.emory.edu
Bike racks don't discriminate against unicycles, and neither does Dallas'proposed ordinance.
Flickr user W.D. Vanlue

UPDATE: According to the Dallas Morning News, the bicycling ordinance was not approved and has been sent to committee for further review.

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It's hard to believe it took the city of Dallas 126 years to create rules for how bicyclists and motorists should operate on the road, but the truth is often stranger than fiction. The ordinance won't be official until it passes muster with the City Council on Wednesday. However, considering it will cost the city nothing and is on the consent agenda, the item is likely to be approved.

The rules number just four: Motorists must vacate the lane when a cyclist enters it; motorists must wait a safe distance to pass cyclists; motorists mustn't make hasty right turns in front of cyclists; and, finally, no matter how many hits it would garner on Youtube, motorists cannot throw anything at cyclists.

I have admittedly jumped a curb once or thrice and taken to the sidewalks to avoid cars when biking downtown. Of course, those were the wild and lawless days of 2011, when nobody gave a damn.

I love the city's brevity on this issue, and the fact that with less than a handful of rules, projectile retaliation made the list, as did unicyclists. One-wheeled riders are included in the ordinance, which also makes provisions for a hand-cycle.

Dallas is no doubt regularly inundated with mouthy hand-cyclists just asking to get hit in the face with a slurpee from 7-Eleven. Rest assured, sassy cyclists of all kinds will soon have protection.

Although motorists are painted as the bad guy in the ordinance's language (bicyclists are called "vulnerable road users"), and motorists are the ones facing a $500 fine for improper behavior, cyclists should carry their weight as well.

I have admittedly jumped a curb once or thrice and taken to the sidewalks to avoid cars when biking downtown. Of course, those were the wild and lawless days of 2011, when nobody gave a damn. There's a new world order in Dallas, and I'm inclined to obey it.

If I don't, I could face fines of my own under state and federal laws for cyclists. Perhaps more disturbingly, I could get hit by a car, and it would be my fault.

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E-Cigarette News

Dallas City Council places restrictions on vaping in public

Unsplash

Man vaping

Vaping will now be banned exactly like smoking, thanks to a new ordinance from the Dallas City Council.

At their December 11 meeting, the council passed an ordinance to ban vaping in all the same areas where smoking is not allowed. It'll go into effect on December 11, 2025 — giving everyone a year to get into compliance.

Proposed by City of Dallas Environmental Commission (EVC) and the Office of Environmental Quality and Sustainability (OEQS), the ordinance amends the definition of “smoking” in the Dallas City Code to include the use of vaping devices.

The ordinance does not ban vaping — it only bans where you can vape: no vaping in all indoor and enclosed spaces; within 15 feet of building entrances; and on park property. The ordinance also bans marijuana smoking in those same places.

In addition, the amendment requires restaurants, hotels, fitness centers and other businesses to update their signage to clearly state that both smoking and electronic smoking devices are prohibited.

The ordinance already earned widespread support from health organizations such as the Dallas County Health and Human Services, the American Lung Association, and the American Heart Association. These organizations, along with the World Health Organization, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the U.S. Surgeon General, have all raised concerns about the health risks of direct and second-hand exposure to vaping aerosols, particularly for vulnerable populations such as children and older adults.

Dallas is not the first city to impose such a ban: San Antonio enacted a similar ban in October. Theirs goes into effect on January 1, 2025.

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