[bmah]

That's ok. I sort of enjoy talking about stuff I can relate to.

And I see, if public transit in Texas (and not just bike riding) is the dominant subject of your article, definitely rat on about transit-oriented development.

http://www.transitorienteddevelopment.org/

Looking at your region:
- you should also consider light rails, such as Dallas's rapid transit, DART: http://www.dart.org/
- TOD in Fort Worth: http://www.mckinneytexas.org/uploade...ge/TOD-FAQ.pdf
- more

Other solutions I've mention ties into TODs. For instance, TODs are characterized by mixed-use communities (look it up), which by definition requires a degree of walkability. Same goes with zoning applications (look up on zoning). Zoning is a way to designate parcels of land to have a specific use; one can designate a special zone that emphasizes building codes to encourage greater walkability and more transit-oriented uses (e.g. DC1/DC2 zoning where DC = direct control by either the developer or the city) - e.g. the city designates an area to have DC1 zoning in order to be able to build things that normal building codes wouldn't allow, such as wider sidewalks and boulevards...which of course, would encourage more walking, biking, etc. (and would discourage the use of cars if the road becomes narrower as a result)

I'm basically applying transit from a planning perspective. Of course, there are other ways to encourage more public transit, such as advertising, funding events (as you've mentioned), put a greater emphasis on physical education in schools, and so on.