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| Scoping Out New Work Commute Routes |
With the multi-use path through George Bush Park and Terry Hershey Park I can ride most of the roughly 16 miles car free. I was hoping there would be an exit from Terry Hershey right next to my new office but there wasn't. If I exit at Enclave Parkway it is a fairly short ride to Briar Forrest Rd and there is a bike lane. Always a welcome sight to see a bike lane
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| Bike Lane on Enclave Parkway |
The shortest and quickest route is to skip Terry Hershey and instead take Briar Forrest from the end of George Bush park. Unfortunately the bike lane on Briar Forrest has a lot of debris and sections where construction has blocked the path. As nice as it is to see a bike lane, sometimes in Houston they can be pretty impractical. So my choices are the winding , and in the early evening crowded with joggers, dog walkers, families, etc Terry Hershey path, and Briar Forrest with its less than stellar bike path and rush hour cars. Guess that will be a game time decision. Either way I am looking forward to commuting via bike again.
Our apartment is basically right there. I ride Enclave from THP down to Westella on my ride home from work. It's not too bad. The road is in decent shape but sometimes cars get close. Riding down Briar Forest is pretty rough and I wouldn't recommend it.
ReplyDeleteThanks Dan. To get from THP to the left turn on Enclave are you on the sidewalk? I try to avoid sidewalks as much as possible. Briar Forrest is tempting because it's more direct but the Sunday I rode it to the park there was a ton of debris and I can imagine with a lot cars it will be really tough. Will let you know how it goes.
ReplyDeleteI frequently have to go between the WestLake campus on Memorial to Westella. Going to Westella, I get on the south side of the bayou then at Eldridge I go south on the sidewalk to the business entrance, where I can transition to riding on the road. The left turn loop on Eldridge (turning east onto Enclave) does not normally pick up my bike, though there is almost always a car there to trip it. That Enclave bike lane is sub-standard and there are a lot of intersection threats; I have to take the lane a lot. Northbound is a little more straightforward though the bike lane pavement is worse.
ReplyDeleteHave you considered using Briarhills Parkway to get from Highway 6 intersection to Enclave Parkway? I’ve ridden through that route a few times and it would avoid both THP joggers and Briar Forest. It has some traffic-calming features and my limited experience is that the stress level is low.
Briar Forest westbound at 5:00 pm is chock-a-block at Eldridge. I have seen a few cyclists headed west at that time. My concern at rush hour (i.e., cars sitting at traffic lights) is getting right-hooked as I pass in the bike lane. I spent some time in a similar situation on Clay Road and I really had to be on my toes because they will NOT look for anything coming in the bike lane.
No matter what route you take, it will beat driving.