Hundreds of Bike Lane Miles Approved for Dallas, but is the City Working Fast Enough?

The Dallas City Council approved the first update to the city’s bike plan in 14 years Wednesday, but some council members and advocates warned the plan to bolster bicycle infrastructure over the next two decades isn’t fast enough to keep up with other major cities.

The updated plan has been in the works since 2022 and outlines three phases of development that would build up a network of bicycle infrastructure that can be used by “all ages and abilities.” The plan outlines environmental and health benefits that would come from a more robust bicycle culture and aims to increase the percentage of Dallasites who utilize a bike for short trips—journeys of three miles or less—which currently account for around 40% of vehicular travel.

Unlike the 2011 bike plan, which merely outlined infrastructure needs for existing bikers, the plan approved Wednesday will encourage development that targets non-bikers interested in the transportation method who hope to see increased protections before taking to the trails.

“We know that making our streets safer for bikes means that they will be safer for pedestrians and drivers as well. With more people dying in our city from car crashes than homicides, it is more important than ever that we start investing in safer streets,” Council member Chad West, who wore an orange bicycle pin in support of the plan at the Horseshoe, said. “I want to make sure we sufficiently fund transportation and public works, to give them the resources they need to make sure this plan doesn't just sit on a shelf that actually gets built.”

Earlier this month, the Dallas City Council was presented with an update of the Vision Zero plan that outlines the city’s goal of eliminating traffic-related fatalities by 2030. Between January and March of 2025, 55 motorist and pedestrian fatalities had been recorded across the city. As of the end of March, 30 victims of murder had been recorded in Dallas, police data shows. According to the bike plan, increased bicycle infrastructure is believed to help with the safe streets initiative by encouraging slower speeds and separating walking pedestrians and vehicles.

Despite his support for the bike plan, West said he is “concerned” about the timeline presented, which calls for a second phase of development to run from 2030 to 2045 and a third phase to be evaluated after that. The first phase, which will last until 2030, comprises projects that have already been funded or projects identified as high-priority and low-cost.

Dallas currently has around 204 miles of bike paths — 89 miles of on-street bikeways and 115 miles of paved trails — many of which are not protected alongside vehicular traffic or abruptly end, spitting cyclists into busy roadways. The plan calls for more investment into lanes that are visually or physically separated from traffic, as well as trails that do not run alongside traffic at all.

The first development phase will see 83 miles added to Dallas’ infrastructure. Sixty-nine of those miles are funded, the plan states. Because the city plans to remove several existing paths, Dallas should start 2030 with 231 miles of paths. That’s a fraction of what Houston, Austin and San Antonio offer.

“As a city, we have a history of falling short on safe streets,” Rebekah Kornblum, president of the Dallas Bicycle Coalition, told the council. “What can we do as a city in the next 10 years, not 20, 30, 40 [years]?”

Kornblum urged the council to move the development of a stronger bicycle network along faster by investing more funding into the work and offering more transparency into the construction process. Dallas’ general fund allocates $2 million annually to the bike lane program. According to the plan’s financial outlook, the second phase would rely on continued general fund financing, money from a future bond program and grants for a total of $300 million.


The plan states that $300 million would create around 197 additional miles of bike trails by 2045. In Houston, a 2017 bike plan has led to the construction of 162 miles of bike lanes in the last eight years.

The plan identifies Dallas’ South Central and South Eastern quadrants as the most high-need quadrants for further investments in biking infrastructure. That need is based on an analysis of existing trails, health outcomes, transportation access and pedestrian fatalities. Though the plan’s first phase does introduce some additional infrastructure across Southern Dallas, those paths won’t offer much connectivity to Dallas’ other trails until the project’s second phase.

“We teach people how to go to the grocery store, how to bike to the doctor's office, how to bike to school when the kids get their Christmas or their birthday bikes,” Ashley Fletcher, founder of Bike Friendly South Dallas, told the council. “We don’t bike for fun. It is fun … [but] it’s economical for us. It’s affordable. It’s a legitimate transportation method.”

The plan estimates that by 2030, a third of Dallas residents should live within a quarter-mile of a bike trail. That number could be as high as 53% by the end of the project’s second phase. According to the plan, the planned trail system will offer increased connectivity to DART rail lines, schools and parks for residents who don’t want to travel by car.

“I think it's a dream that we shouldn't have to wait until the next generation to see happen, to have a city we can get around safely and without fearing for your life in other ways besides just being in a car,” West said. “I'm excited today. I mean, there's a lot more we need to do. This is an incremental step in the right direction that a lot of work has gone into.”