DALLAS — A trip to White Rock Lake is about to become an uphill battle for bikers.
Right now, cyclists can use a path to cross Northwest Highway at West Lawther Drive to get to the lake, but that's about to change. Pedal-pushers will soon have to cross at Buckner Boulevard.
It's less than a mile away, but traveling that mile could be a real challenge.
Construction on Northwest Highway is designed to raise the road above the flood plain, but it's also raising concerns.
The project will shut down the intersection at West Lawther Drive, closing the north-south White Rock Lake bike trail for two years.
Bob Murdoch, who is on the government relations committee of BikeDFW, is urging city council members to fight the current plan, fearing that somebody's going to get hit.
The Texas Department of Transportation says an alternate route to crossing Northwest Highway will be provided at Buckner Blvd starting July 13. To get there, riders will first have to go over Flagpole Hill — a challenge in itself — before reaching the Buckner intersection.
"This particular intersection is a particularly dangerous one to try to get through on a bicycle," Murdoch said.
TxDOT spokeswoman Cynthia White said the agency's engineers have looked at design details and there is no other alternative.
"It's just going to take, you know, just making sure you are aware of your surroundings," she said.
Bicycle shop owner Boyd Wallace echoes concerns about all the construction and the impact it may have on his business. He said 75 percent of his customers ride the White Rock bike trail. "Our fear is, we've invested our life savings into this... we're a mom-and-pop shop," he said.
TxDOT said they will address the concerns of bike riders, but ask everyone to consider the big picture: Once construction is complete, the bike trails will run underneath Northwest Highway. "Ultimately, it will be a better route than what is here currently," White said.
E-mail ddenmon@wfaa.com
