• Welcome to the Two Wheeled Texans community! Feel free to hang out and lurk as long as you like. However, we would like to encourage you to register so that you can join the community and use the numerous features on the site. After registering, don't forget to post up an introduction!

DAL/FTW: Which side of Dallas offers the best riding?

jgrm1

0
Joined
Aug 11, 2010
Messages
789
Reaction score
352
Location
Midlothian / Waxahachie
It looks like I will finally return to Texas in the next few weeks, so I am starting to think about where to live. The job will be located near downtown Dallas.

Obviously, a major consideration is convenient access to the best riding roads. So, where are the best places to ride from the metroplex? North, South, East, or West?

Other considerations are:

Garage space, so acreage lots?
Commute to downtown
Desirable area.

Thanks for any input that narrows down my property search.

-Jeff
 
West. Period. From someone living on the east side.

But none of it will compare to Arkansas.
 
Hope I don't hurt any feelings here, but I'd start by not living in Dallas proper. Their political problems are legendary and apparently endless. That said:

We chose west - the mid-cities area - many years ago. Stable city governments, good school systems, more commuting routes. Cities north and northeast of Dallas are quite nice, but due to crushing traffic, I wouldn't move there unless I planned to ride the DART system.
 
West. If you can find a place close to the TRE between fort worth and dallas you will avoid a lot of traffic headaches. A friend of mine bicycles from Benbrook to the train station in downtown fort worth (Trinity trail no roads no traffic) and then gets off the train a mile from his work. He says he hates the days he has to drive more than anything.
 
Stay in Little Rock and work from home, I was a born Texan but for my 2 wheeled enjoyment both dirt and street Arkansas has us beat hands down
 
West definitely but the further south you go the better it is everywhere. There are a lot of back roads to be found in between Waco and Dallas, especially around Waxahachie and surrounding areas.

The commute to downtown Dallas isn't really bad in most circumstances but traffic can suck along the tollway and the boom area is Plano and in particular Frisco. Mesquite also has a lot of affordable real estate right now and that offers more accessibility to downtown but traffic is still going to be a little bit of a nuisance.
 
Mesquite also has a lot of affordable real estate right now and that offers more accessibility to downtown but traffic is still going to be a little bit of a nuisance.
Sigh, I live East of Mesquite and work west of downtown Dallas. :giveup:
 
Great input, thanks! Scanning realtor.com and har.com, it seems the types of properties that meet my search criteria are east (Rockwall / Heath) and south (Waxahachie / Midlothian). I'll monitor the Dallas traffic maps this week to get an idea on commute times.

Gixxerjasen,

The new office will be on Stemmons Freeway, so our commute will be similar if I go east. Getting through downtown seems to be awful with all the merging. What time do you have to arrive / depart downtown to avoid the worst of it?

-Jeff
 
It's simple, I don't go through downtown. I take 635 around. I work off of 635 so that makes it easier. I kind of stopped going through downtown when they started all the construction. I really don't see how any of the construction was an improvement and 35E around downtown is insane with all the people making lane changes to get where they need to be. Don't know how long you've been gone but when they built the George Bush that helped 635 traffic a lot. Hate to say it but the new Texpress lanes help a bit too. I use them when on the bike as well. Speeds on the Texpress are generally...well...higher than posted, and the posted limit is higher than the other lanes. ;)

I start my shift at 7 so that helps a lot, but usually I can get there in around an hour. I leave early so if there's bad stuff I can be on time, and if I get there early I can usually leave early, flexible shift and all.

East is the new growth area. North has gotten so expensive and East is still very reasonably priced so there's a lot of growth and people buying out here, but the home cost is going up. Good place to buy though. We've only been in this neighborhood a couple years and several of our neighbors just moved (next door neighbor moved to Colorado, I hate him now) and they are selling for significantly higher than we paid.
 
...The new office will be on Stemmons Freeway...

:eek2:
Stemmons, AKA I35E, will give you more than your fair share of thinking time while commuting. If you really want to get an idea of what commute times are you should plan on spending a couple of days in the area - Thursday and Friday being the most indicative. Scout the traffic flow during your morning and afternoon commute times. Check the DART routes if you are considering public transportation.

Not knowing just what your search criteria is, my guess is that you will have an easier commute coming from the West, N. West.
 
One of the only good things about living in the east, the sun is always at your back. :D
 
Also, when I lived in Seagoville I was working at 635 and the tollway. About 30 miles for me. My coworker at the time lived 10 miles away in The Colony. I got to work and home faster than he did.

Where at on Stemmons? That makes a big difference.
 
I would say South or Southwest
- I'm in Midlothian it's a good starting point for a lot of good riding roads.
 
One of the only good things about living in the east, the sun is always at your back. :D

You aren't kidding on that one. The sun is in my eyes every day to and from work, which is also in the eyes of every other driver headed the same way. Like clockwork, there is a spot on 20 going east where everyone will hit the brakes as they come over a rise and the sun hits them in the face. EVERY morning......:giveup:
 
I would say South or Southwest
- I'm in Midlothian it's a good starting point for a lot of good riding roads.

Midlothian is a little farther out then I initially wanted to consider, but looks interesting. There appears to be a lot of new construction on acreage lots. Being on the south side also gets me closer to family in east Texas, Georgetown, and Houston on the weekends. I like to hear there are decent roads in the area. Looks like the commute would be straight up 35E.

-Jeff
 
:eek2:
Stemmons, AKA I35E, will give you more than your fair share of thinking time while commuting. If you really want to get an idea of what commute times are you should plan on spending a couple of days in the area - Thursday and Friday being the most indicative. Scout the traffic flow during your morning and afternoon commute times.

Excellent advice. I will start the job before making the move, which will give me time to learn the town (and allow me to ride Arkansas on the weekends).

-Jeff
 
Midlothian is a little farther out then I initially wanted to consider, but looks interesting. There appears to be a lot of new construction on acreage lots. Being on the south side also gets me closer to family in east Texas, Georgetown, and Houston on the weekends. I like to hear there are decent roads in the area. Looks like the commute would be straight up 35E.

-Jeff

New subdivisions with large lots going in everyday - good school system if you still kids in school - primary commute would be on Hwy 67, 35E or cut over to I45, depending on which side of town your coming from and which side of downtown Dallas you're going to - distance would be 25 to 35 miles again depending on starting & finishing point.

I live on North side of Midlothian about 3 miles west of Ovilla - can be to Love Field in 30 to 35 minutes (if no wrecks) going up 67 or 35, takes about same amount of time to get into downtown cutting across to 45 - You may want to look at the Ennis area also - it's a little further out, but straight shot up I45 with less traffic.
 
Stemmons near UT Southwestern Medical Center (Medical District Drive).

-Jeff

My wife worked in that area and made the same commute for 20 years, there are several surface street options to get there if the freeway get stacked up.
 
That is an important consideration that affects both comfort and traffic flow. People slow down when the sun is in their eyes.

-Jeff
While true, my snarky observation is that people hardly slow down for anything on 635.

I used to commute via bush to north Richardson. It was a breeze. Then I moved and now take 635.

635 crazies is why I stopped bike commuting. Constant Lane changing, tailgating and general ***-hatery.

Sent from my LG-H872 using Tapatalk
 
Ditto. I commuted from Arlington to downtown Dallas for 5 years, then to Los Colinas for another 25. I never noticed anybody slowing down much for sun blindness. In all honesty, that included me. We all just kinda squinted, pointed our cars at the bumper in front of us, and hoped the the next guy in line could see a little bit better. Still, I think midcity-to-downtown is less horrible than most other drives into downtown Dallas.

And being retired, I oh-so-don't miss that!
 
Seem to recall that the glass mirror like skin of one of the buildings along Stemmons was changed out in the late 80's because of how the sun was reflected right into driver's eyes during rush hour. That was about the same time the tunnel on 183 between Euless and Irving was opened up when the old runway over it was torn out. Coming out of that thing on a Spring or Fall morning was blinding and traffic could be counted on to slow way down, if not stop completely. Just for fun, we'd get to do it again going home in the afternoons while driving towards the setting sun.

I'm with Tim - don't miss that stuff at all.
 
Well, it took longer than I expected, but I finally completed my relocation this week. I appreciated all the input and felt like I should close the loop with those who chimed in. I ended up with a place midway between Midlothian and Waxahachie.

I look forward to getting out and exploring the area. I received some route suggestions from one of the crew at AMS Ducati, but welcome more "can't miss" roads.

-Jeff
 
Back
Top