Last week I decided to go cycling along the M-Path and was taken aback by the hostility and fragmentation of Miami’s only main Bicycle route. I was even more shocked when last weekend I visited Cambridge again and witnessed first hand the disparity between Miami’s and Cambridge’s cycling facilities. We have a long way to go.
Cambridge is by far one of the friendliest cities in the United States for cycling. Click here for a full citywide map of routes. Most city streets look like the image below and the bike lanes provide a consistent network for area residents.
The M-Path, our “premier” cycling facility is a fragmented trail of hostility. As the M-Path to Enlightenment points out, if you aren’t paying attention and are traveling too fast, you’ll end up in the Miami River along the path’s northern terminus in Downtown Miami. I was taken aback most by the lovely “No Trespassing” signs along the very public right-of-way. A little misleading, isn’t it?
7 Responses to Cycling Here and There
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Most times that I ride on the M Path I run into drivers who do not understand what a crosswalk is and why they don’t have the right to run down people who are in it.
Oh I saw many of those. Slowing down at each intersection to figure out how to weave around the cars put a real damper on the whole ride…
What do you guys expect? The mpath ends at every intersection. Haven’t you seen the signs?
On a serious not I did take some photos of cars blowing through intersections, while I had the right of way, http://www.flickr.com/photos/hipster_librarian/tags/mpath/ and I sent them to all county officials in charge of the mpath. No response yet, but at least now, when a car plows into a biker or a pedestrian they won’t be able to plead ignorance.
The M-path upgrades and repairs are in the works according to Miami-Dade County BPAC.
As for the no trespassing signs, that is because people sleep under the metro-rail, it gives a posted notice to the homeless so they can be arrested for trespass. It is a bigger issue, and does not apply to cyclists using the m-path.
They need to do something about the crosswalk at Bird Road that is super scary.
Two years ago I pedaled the whole path end to end. I remember how difficult it was to find the next fragmented section when the path was broken by a street and the next section didn’t connect directly across that street. Signs and markings were absent about whether to go right or left and how far away the next section began. Wilderness trails are almost always easier to follow.
I just arrived from Miami from Cambridge, and the difference in bicycle culture could not be more stark! I am making due riding around Miami but not without some added stress…
I meant: TO Miami from Cambridge…