The end of an era
by Mike on Jul.21, 2006, under Cycling, Political
For many years (at least since I started cycling), Preston road and SR1461 in Prosper have been great roads to ride a bicycle on. I can remember riding from my house in Richardson south on Greenville to Walnut Hill then west to Preston then north 30 miles up the 2 lane road thru Frisco all the way to CR 134 north of Celina. What a great road that was – low traffic, good shoulder, great surface, etc.
That all ended Wednesday when the Collin County resurfaced Preston road north of SR1461 with chip seal (tar and gravel/rock). Not the pea gravel chip seal which is rideable after a couple of weeks of being driven on by cars. This is the nickel-sized chip seal which “chips” off easily due to its size and leaves a hole which makes it easier for the next rock over to chip off and leave a bigger hole. Just check out FM455 east of Celina if you want to understand what I am saying. That surface is unrideable on a road bike.
Based on the piles of rock I see on the side of SR1461, I assume they are also going to resurface SR1461 east of Preston road. What a waste of good roads. Both Preston and SR1461 are asphalt roads with good surfaces. There are minimal cracks on these roads and there is relatively little deformation of these roads due to the ground shifting. I don’t think that chip seal would address that problem anyway. I should know since I (used to) spend a lot of time riding these roads.
Unfortunately, this is just a continuing trend in NW Collin County. FM455 east of Preston was resurfaced with chip seal 2 years ago and has been unrideable since. 2478 (Custer road) north of 380 and FM455 west of Preston to the Denton county line were both resurfaced last summer and are still very rough roads. The Collin Classic charity bike rally had to move their course east of Central Expy because these roads were so rough it negatively impacted particpation. I know I did not ride the rally because of the roads it traversed.
As a result of resurfacing Preston, I expect bike traffic in our corner to the county to reduce to -0-. Perhaps there will be one rider if I decide to put some fatter tires on my Santa Cruz and go out and punish myself. Maybe I will fantasize I am riding the cobbles thru the Arenberg forest in Paris-Roubaix. I wonder if E.L. Marks will have lower sales at Bobcat Kuntry, a favorite stopping point for the PBA Saturday morning ride?
Clearly, this is the end of the era of good cycling in NW Collin County. This presents cyclists with a Hobson’s choice – do I get in my car and drive to a place where I can ride well surfaced open roads, or do I stay in town and risk life and limb to share good roads with automobiles. My guess is that more cyclists will choose to stay in town on the good roads, which will only create more opportunities for conflicts with cars and their drivers. Don’t blame us cyclists, we have been forced into this position by our state and local governments – by our tax dollars at work.
Those are my thoughts – where do you stand on this issue?
