Hello Fellow Irving Cyclists!

Irving has a unique opportunity to get safe bicycle-ped pathways 
running parallel to 183/Airport Fwy. Although several of us have 
committed to focusing on this, I wanted to let everyone know that the 
city is having stakeholder meetings next week. They're called 
'informational meetings' but I have been told that these are 
essentially stakeholder meetings, and it's a key moment to provide 
input. This is before public input meetings. Therefore the meetings 
are important because things are more flexible at this stage than at 
public input.

The dates are Monday Feb 8th (2p or 6p), Tuesday Feb 9th (6p) & 
Wednesday Feb 10th (2p).
http://cityofirving.org/Key-Focus/articles/economic-development-initiatives/0110-meeting-invitation.pdf

To get a sense of what the 183 Overlay means for bicycles, you can 
watch Steve Reed's presentation of it to City Council on Nov. 4 on the 
City Website. The last 16 minutes include info & council comments on 
bike lanes/paths.
www.cityofirving.org  =>  click on "Video on Demand"  =>  "Meetings" 
tab  =>  "City Council Work Session" Nov 4th => "Agenda" tab => "Item 5"

Below is the invitational email from Steve Reed, the Planning Manager 
who is overseeing this project.
Francesca
817-395-3245
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Francesca,

I wanted to let you know that we have scheduled 4 neighborhood 
meetings during the week of Feb. 8 about the 183 Overlay. You can find 
a copy of the invitation and a copy of the draft ordinance on the 
City’s web site under Key Focus Areas, Economic Development 
Initiatives, State Highway 183 Expansion. I am getting a list of all 
your task force members from Dan Vedral and will send them all an 
invitation next week.

Please take some time to review the ordinance. It includes specific 
requirements for bicycle parking and wide sidewalks to accommodate 
bikers, but it does not address bike lanes in the rights of way. We 
felt that the official plan endorsed by the task force should be 
followed, plus zoning regulates only private property, not right of 
way. I think the ordinance incorporates a lot of green concepts 
(reduced parking requirements and more landscaping with specific types 
of materials). Hopefully you will find this to your liking. If you 
have any questions or suggestions, please give me a call.

Steven A. Reed
Planning Manager
Planning and Inspections Department
"Quality Development Through Exceptional Service"
City of Irving, Texas
972-721-2424
sreed@cityofirving.org