By all accounts Bike Miami was a total success! Some estimates claim nearly 2,000 bicyclists, joggers, walkers, dogs, dancers and skaters in attendance. I have a feeling it may have been a little more, but regardless, downtown was full of smiling people enjoying their city in a new way.
The two hot spots were undoubtedly Mary Brickell Village and Bayfront park, the two bookends of the route where people flocked in droves. In fact, South Miami Avenue was much more like an urban plaza than a street. Did you notice how the cafe seating and active retail edges allowed people to watch the active participants promenade through what became more a stage than a street? It was a beautiful event and instructive. Indeed, I have never seen such an exercise of urbanism within downtown Miami. The event clearly demonstrates the wonderful potential of downtown Miami and I think the event’s organizers and participants now understand what livable streets can mean for the health of downtown Miami.
At 11am Miami Mayor Manny Diaz gave a short speech about making Miami a more bicycle friendly city. His commitment to such a goal has been more than evident in the past 9 months and we should all thank him, his staff (especially Kathryn Moore!) the Bicycle Action Committee and all the other city departments who made Bike Miami so successful. As Mayor Diaz also pointed out, yesterday’s event would not have been possible without the volunteer effort of the city’s police force who were wonderful, if not a bit surprised at the masses of people using the city’s streets in such an innovative way. Thanks to all!
Please know that all those involved in organizing the event are now aiming to make Bike Miami occur on a regular basis, perhaps even monthly as the mayor mentioned to me yesterday. However, before doing so, we would like to hear from you. What did you like? Did you have any problems? Do you have any suggestions for a route change or possible extension? Share your feedback by visiting the Bike Miami homepage and filling out a quick survey.
We will do our best to make Bike Miami even better for you in the future. All we ask in return is that you contact your local representatives, the Mayor’s office and/or your local news outlets etc (Especially the Miami Herald who ignored the event in today’s coverage!). to share your support and positive feedback. This is a grassroots event. Be the roots.
Now for a few photos.
Mayor Manny Diaz speaks to hundreds of participants at the Bike Miami rally.
Mr. Clucky, an erstwhile bicycle activist looks on.
Families were some of the most active participants at Bike Miami.
Flagler Street was teaming with activity all day long.
South Miami Avenue at Mary Brickell Village.
Go Green Miami.
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What a great day it was yesterday. This was just the begining, and what a great start.
Viva La Velorucion!
My family had a great time, and would love to see this as a bi-monthly or monthly event. Since they police were volunteer, I would think bi-monthly would be better.
We took metro downtown, enjoyed the ride from Government Center to Bayside, then rode over to Mary Brickell and had lunch at PFChang’s. This is clearly a large segment of the community who would flock to downtown if the streets are safe! This great for the city, the downtown core and urbanism.
A great step in the right direction. They should have a Bike Miami once a month or bi-monthly. It was a huge success and was great for Downtown.
[...] Yesterday Miami became the latest American city to pull off a big car-free event, when an estimated 2,000 people (including mayor Manny Diaz) took to the streets for Bike Miami. Mike Lydon at Transit Miami reports: [...]
[...] Yesterday Miami became the latest American city to pull off a big car-free event, when an estimated 2,000 people (including mayor Manny Diaz) took to the streets for Bike Miami. Mike Lydon at Transit Miami reports: [...]
Yup, Bike Miami was just fantastic. I can’t wait for the next one.
I wrote a Bike Miami report as well:
http://dmperez.com/cycling/2008/11/09/bike-miami/
How the herald missed (read: ignored) this one is beyond me.
The Herald continues to prove its irrelevance. I mean, this event was not more than mile from their office! Please send these thoughts to the editor. They should not be missing such broad-based and successful community event.
Fortunately, we have many bloggers providing information, images and videos!