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We know there are lots of reasons Miamians haven't yet adopted bicycling en masse. Chief among them is the very real chance we could wind up as a hood ornament on someone's Escalade, followed closely by the fact that it is hard to effectively pimp out a bike. 

via Wikimedia Commons

The Venetian Causeway is scheduled to be closed for most of May while it undergoes maintenance. While this is an inconvenience for motorists who regularly use the bridge, it could pose major safety issues for pedestrians and bicyclists who rely on the causeway as a safer means of traveling between the Beach and mainland than either the MacArthur or the Julia Tuttle.

Automotive traffic will be rerouted toward the MacAruthur, but last month's fatality involving NFL player Donte' Stallworth hitting a pedestrian only underscores how dangerous the road can be for anyone traveling without a car.

Yesterday, Transit Miami implored its readers to call up Miami-Dade County Public Works to ask them to put up temporery barriers on the MacArthur to ensure that bicyclist and pedestrians can commute safely. However, that causeway is under the jurisdiction of the Florida Department of Transportation.

"We're making arrangements to make sure that bicyclists and pedestrians can travel safely," said Delfin Molins, Public Information Officer for MDCPW when we called him today.

Seems they've recieved Transit Miami's message loud and clear, however they have less than three days before the Venetian is scheduled to close. 

Let's face it. Miami is one of America's worst places to ride a bicycle.Guys on two wheels get whacked on Brickell, nailed in the Redland, and steamrollered on US 1. Bicycling magazine placed us at the bottom along with Dallas and Memphis not long ago. And Florida is clearly the worst in the nation -- with virtually all of our metro areas among the nation's deadliest.

So we're delighted by the plan -- stated on a memo after the jump -- to open the Rickenbacker Causeway to bicyclists this Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon. And we support Manny Diaz's Bike Miami, which will close some of downtown to cars on January 18. It's the best thing the guy has done in office

And we positively love the idea -- to be discussed at a public meeting January 26 to build a bike trail along Dade Boulevard to the beach.

Hey maybe the worm has turned. Maybe we can forever roll around in peace. Yeah, right....I'm not pumping up my tires just yet.

Chuck Strouse

This past Saturday one of two group-bike-ride events in Miami that carry the Critical Mass name met at Vizcaya Metro Rail station to traverse areas of downtown, Brickell Key and Coconut Grove via self propelled motion.

There’s a beautiful progression underway to create more accessible routes for bicyclists around the City of Miami. I’ve been singing my praises to the Coral Way and Miami Avenue projects and wistfully dream of one day seeing a complete circuit from Downtown to the Grove. Now, amidst the jam-packed speculation over options for new lanes and updated roadways, another possible victory for the Miami rider has worked its way into the rumor mill.

Vaguely indeterminate yet ultimately enticing word passed around at the start of the week that the city and county may consider collaborating on a Bayshore Drive reconstruction project. That said, it is our region’s current incentive to see any roadway projects as a potential for improved bike lanes and conditions. If we land a renovation project on Bayshore, then it is not unreasonable to hope that this could close a substantial portion of that previously alluded to circuit.

Yeah, we see your smug little face sitting behind the driver's wheel of a Prius. Oh gee look, you're saving the environment single handedly, aren't you there? Well your self satisfaction is about to take a plunge. Come back and talk to us when you bike 1,450 miles to arrive for your freshman year of college.

The Miami Hurricane interviews a Jamshed Jehangir who did just that.

Jehangir, known by friends as “JJ,” biked from his home in Downers Grove, Ill. to the Coral Gables campus – a 1,450-mile journey that took him 17 days.

“I was trying to find an adventure,” said Jehangir, who is majoring in studio music and jazz. “If you have an opportunity like that, you take it.”

Suddenly we feel a lot worse for driving the entire five minutes to work everyday.

--Kyle Munzenrieder

After seven months of discussion, organization, gestation and planning, the efforts of the Bicycle Action Committee are coming together. From maps to action plans, the BAC’s goal to make Miami a “Bicycle Friendly” city by the standards of the League of American Cyclists will soon be underway in a visceral, hold-in-your-hand-and-weep-with-glee kind of manner. An official Action Plan, given a season of drafting, revision, redrafting, rerevision, and further draftvisions, will be readable, presentable and available within the foreseeable future. What does that mean for the Miami cyclist, beyond being the promise of supportive paperwork?

One aspect you will be able to take on your ride will be a map demonstrating friendly routes and facilities. I’ve been involved with the mapping process in the form of our surveys, mentioned in last month’s Bike Blog, as well as with trying to gather community support. This is an ongoing process, and the map may be dependent to some degree on the sponsorship of local bicycle shops. Any interested parties would receive advertising space and location markers on the final map, given a not-unreasonably priced sponsorship fee.

Florida seems to have more license plate designs per capita than anywhere else. We work hard to compensate for something, like perhaps our crappy drivers, through legions of themed designs. From proclaiming that ‘everyday is a gift’ through hospice care to saving our diverse array of endangered species to asking drivers to share the road, we’ve managed to keep the plate manufacturing entities well-employed. One displaced design that sticks with me is a jarring gash of salmon pastel over dentist office turquoise and blues that dubs Florida the ‘state of the arts’. With artistic laureates like Britto and Jimmy Buffet to represent creative ingenuity and original expression for us, it’s no wonder our ‘state of the arts’ plate looks like an art deco designer exploded upon it. Given our artistic ambitions and, thankfully, growing artistic community, why not incorporate some of that fresh talent into the ‘state’ part of our ‘state of the arts’?

All that dreaming longingly about someday seeing bike lanes along Coral Way has finally paid off. Mike Lydon of Transit Miami wrote last week: “expect to see new bicycle lanes from SW 12th Avenue to SW 15th Road in the not-too-distant-future.” The lanes will span about 16 blocks. From there, they will connect to the upcoming bike lanes on Broadway (SW 15th Road). Good so far, right?

This gets better. Since Broadway is scheduled to be painted with bike lanes in the near future, they will then provide access to the new South Miami Avenue lanes. These lanes travel southwest toward the Bayshore Drive bike path into the Grove, in addition to a corridor leading toward 12th Street in the Brickell area. Essentially, a bike lane circuit is in development that will provide clearer access for riders heading to the Brickell and Downtown areas.

Last week’s post covered the Bicycle Action Committee’s biking trends survey regarding local riding habits. Riders seemed to stay bicycle law savvy, though admittedly choose which moments to obey the rules. This week covers the geography of ridership, particularly the participants’ daily jaunts and where they want to see bike lanes.

Before getting into the details, here’s some pertinently killer news: The survey is taking account of riders’ wishes for bike lanes in order to make Miami a bike-friendly city. A few prospective lanes have been discussed for diverse areas, but one rumored major adjustment to the Miami bicycling situation may be solidifying in the near future. Rumor has it that the FDOT has agreed to include bike lanes on the Third Avenue section of Coral Way. This would allow a smooth route into Downtown by way of the upcoming Broadway and South Miami Avenue lanes. This is awesome, considering many of the survey participants asked specifically for Coral Way accommodations.