Bikes Not Allowed on Loop 49

TEXARKANA — Bicycles are being banned on Loop 49. The Northeast Texas Regional Mobility Authority voted on the ban at its Tuesday meeting in Texarkana. A proposal had been made to allow bicycles on a portion of the toll road on the weekends, but that proposal was rejected. It will now be up to the Department of Public Safety to enforce the ban.

The action is a disappointment for the for the Tyler Bicycle Club. The group had raised money for a bike lane. They had been required to raise $65,000 for a bike lane for Loop 49. They instead raised $100,000. Club member Laurie Simpson tells KETK, “there is supposed to be an alternative path that’s beside, kind of like a service road possibly, there’s about a fifty-fifty chance that we could get that” She says the board’s action will force bikers to ride down county roads, which she says is more dangerous than on the highways, since many times, vehicles can’t see them.