Tag Archive for 'Bicycle Lanes'

Herald Chronicles Miami’s ‘Green Bicycle Wave’

Published
by
Mike Lydon
on October 6, 2008
in Uncategorized
. 0 Comments

Reporter Andres Viglucci wrote a nice piece chronicling the City’s growing commitment to becoming a bicycle friendly city. He writes:

Whether it’s out of fear of getting crushed by two tons of speeding metal, the clueless motorists or the near-total lack of bike lanes, Miamians have long been notoriously bike-averse.

So what’s a car-choked town to do if it wants to join a growing trend and foster safe cycling for recreation and transportation?

You do what the city of Miami — incredibly, perhaps — is starting to do.

First, you draw up a bike plan for the first time ever: identify suitable streets, create bike lanes and signage, provide bike parking and print up ”bike-friendly” maps.

And then, to show that people do want this, pick a day when main streets in the center of town can be closed to cars and turn them over to the citizenry to freely bike, walk, skate, jog, congregate.

Say, Sunday, Nov. 9.

To read more follow the link above, or hey, go old school and pick up a copy of tomorrow’s edition.

More on the Bayshore Bicycle Lanes

Published
by
Gabriel Lopez-Bernal
on September 30, 2008
in bike lanes
. 0 Comments

We filled you in recently on the North Bayshore Drive Bicycle lanes - from what we have heard, the city is working to adapt this project to include the lanes.  No official word yet, but we will keep you posted as we hear more.

It has come to our attention that another critical bicycle access point will be entering a design phase in the coming months.  This time it is South Bayshore Drive in Coconut Grove, one of the busiest Bicycling corridors in all of Miami-Dade County.  South Bayshore Drive is a critical stretch of roadway for recreational and commuter cyclists, linking up with the highly used Commodore Trail and Rickenbacker Causeway.  Since this a County maintained roadway and project, we’ll be posting up a new set of contacts in the coming weeks.

North Bayshore Drive Bicycle Lanes

Published
by
Gabriel Lopez-Bernal
on September 5, 2008
in Bicycles, bike lanes and bikeway
. 3 Comments

Evidenced by the articles below - our work with various groups (like the BAC) has already led to minor additions and improvements for Miami’s Bicycling Community.  Now, with the Coral Way Bike Lanes underway, we turn our attention to another city project that could benefit from some public input.  The city of Miami is working to redesign N Bayshor Drive north of the Venetian Causeway and initial plans omitted bicycle lanes.  This project is critical.  The addition of Bicycle lanes would provide a much needed outlet for cyclists crossing the Venetian Causeway’s bicycle lanes.  It would provide a northern safe route to the Edgwater district (hopefully extending later into the design district) and Margaret Pace Park.  

Send us letters in support of the addition of Bicycle lanes to this project and we’ll forward them along to the City’s planning and public works departments.

Coral Way Bicycle Lanes A-Go

Published
by
Mike Lydon
on August 14, 2008
in Uncategorized
. 11 Comments

Transit Miami has just learned that bicycle lanes will now be included in an upcoming Coral Way road project. Thus, expect to see new bicycle lanes from Southwest 12th Avenue to Southwest 15th Road in the not-too-distant-future. Thanks to all who called and emailed their support, and many thanks to our support at City Hall from Mayor Diaz and City Manager Peter Hernandez. All of the support made the difference!

Counting Bicyclists

Published
by
Mike Lydon
on July 25, 2008
in Uncategorized
. 3 Comments

After a recent Bicycle Advisory Committee meeting I agreed to help Miami-Dade County MPO Bike/ped coordinator, Dave Henderson, count bicyclists. Dave has been doing his annual bicycle count all around downtown Miami recently and I decided to help  him out with the Venetian Causeway portion.

The task was simple: find out how many bicyclists are using the Venetian Causeway between 7am and 9am on weekday mornings. By tallying these users on an annual basis the County will better understand how and where bicyclists are riding, especially as it relates to commuting.  I conducted my survey last Tuesday.

Certainly no single day bicyclist count can determine average daily use numbers. Nonetheless, randomly tallying users on any given day provides us with an idea of how often bicyclists are using the streets and/or the few existing bicycle facilities that do exist. While counting I did my best to not double count. That is, to not include those bicycling past me east bound, only to whiz by me 20 minutes later heading west bound.  This happened frequently, demonstrating that many people use the Venetian Causeway for exercise, not one-way morning commutes.

What I discovered is instructive. Overall, I counted 90 bicyclists. Interestingly,  I saw no children, kids, or teens.  About 60% of the riders were headed east, while another 40% were heading west. Those readily identifiable as recreational bicyclists were doing loops, while the rest, with their backpacks, saddle bags, and lack of spandex, were probably on their way to or from work.

Men outnumbered women by 40%, which says something about users, safety and preference.

As it relates to bicycle behavior, 100% of users were using the on-street bicycle lanes, opting to stay away from the sidewalks. What is more, 100% of bicyclists were riding with traffic. Almost anywhere else in Miami these impressive percentages would surely diminish. Indeed, when I bicycle downtown, west on SW 7th Street, Eastward on calle ocho, or all over the Grove, I typically see 50% of riders on the sidewalks or going against traffic in the wrong direction.

One can only attribute these virtuous behaviors to the presence of a bicycle lane (despite its shortcomings) clear and consistent signage, directional on-pavement arrows, and an ingrained bicyclist culture where riders know what is expected of them on the Causeway. To be sure, I do see bicyclists along the Venetian exhibiting less than safe behavior. Nonetheless, they are few and far between. What is worrisome, however, is that 46% of bicyclists were not wearing helmets. One must remember that a bicycle lane does not always mean you are safe.

Overall, the corridor is very active and relatively safe. It is just unfortunate that so many recreational bicyclists do not carry on into the the City of Miami. This is probably because the bicycle lane simply stops on the Miami side of the Causeway. Further more,  it seems the general perception of downtown Miami and many of its inner neighborhoods is that of an unsafe and unattractive place for recreation. Sometime in the future the baywalk may coax recreational bicyclists further into the city, but for now efforts should concentrate on street facilities that help non-commuting or non-expert riders explore their city safely and without being  isolated inside a hulking metal carapace.

Bus vs. Bicycle

Published
by
JM Palacios
on July 12, 2008
in bike lanes and bus
. 6 Comments

Bus blocking bicycle lane

I was spoiled by learning to ride my bicycle on the road in Gainesville, one of Florida’s most bicycle-friendly cities. Bus drivers in that city typically check for bicycles in the bike lane before pulling over into it to stop, or they stop outside of the bicycle lane altogether. This is in obedience with Florida Statute 316.085(2) that requires a driver to check that a lane is clear before changing lanes. In this regard, a bicycle lane is no different than a regular vehicular lane, just as a bicycle is no different than a regular vehicle. There is nothing wrong with the bus changing lanes into the bicycle lane when stopping, but the driver must make sure the bicycle lane is clear before doing so. Anything else is a violation of the law and a threat to cyclists.

Bus drivers down here seem ignorant of that law as it applies to bicycle lanes. At least the one who I ran into yesterday was ignorant, as was the cop who faulted me for the accident without finding me in violation of any law.

A message to all the local transit systems: train your drivers to drive carefully and lawfully as it pertains to cyclists! In this case, they need to check their right mirror before encroaching on any kind of bicycle lane. We are all part of the multimodal transportation system, and bicycles and buses are both good alternatives to cars. We would hate to see one kill off the other.

Do You Want Bicycle Lanes Along Coral Way?

Published
by
Mike Lydon
on June 22, 2008
in Bicycles, Uncategorized and bike lanes
. 12 Comments

If you know something about thoroughfare right of ways in Miami, you know that they are controlled by several different jurisdictions: State, County, City, and even Federal in the case of Interstate 95. While the City of Miami controls many of the local neighborhood streets, they essentially have no control over the the city’s major corridors. This my transit-minded friends, is a major problem, as such a thicket of bureaucracy tends to make the instigation of change a nightmare, especially when it comes to taking back the streets from the car cartel. Yet the City of Miami is finally starting to join us in the good fight and we need to help them, help us. The reconstruction of Coral Way is the most imminent opportunity.

If you would like to see bicycle lanes included on Coral Way, from Southwest 12th Avenue to Southwest 15th Road, please join Transit Miami by writing a quick letter of support by Friday, June 27th to Alexander Adams (aadams@miamigov.com) in the City of Miami Planning Department (You can even tell him, or us, where else you would like to see such facitlities). Bicycle lanes along this important corridor will be an important link in the City’s eventual bicycle network. Speak up and show FDOT that bicycling in Miami is being taken very seriously!

Cycling Here and There

Published
by
Gabriel Lopez-Bernal
on June 16, 2008
in Bikes, bike lanes and bikeway
. 7 Comments

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.

Cambridge Bike Lanes

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?

Miami\'s M-Path