Vandals a challenge to Paris bike-sharing

The Parisian bike-rental scheme that inspired imitation in Washington and Miami Beach is having hard times. It may not quite be running on the rims, but much of the promise has flown as destructive human nature asserted itself.

"this latest French utopia has met a prosaic reality: Many of the specially designed bikes, which cost $3,500 each, are showing up on black markets in Eastern Europe and northern Africa. Many others are being spirited away for urban joy rides, then ditched by roadsides, their wheels bent and tires stripped."

Read more at The New York Times.

A colorful look at Critical Mass

There's a Critical Mass ride in Miami tonight, and The Miami Herald has a sympathetic article today by urban affairs specialist Andres Viglucci, who rode with the group earlier to take its pulse. Tonight's riders are invited to show up in costume at the county Government Center at 6:30 p.m.

Racing deadline to close Dadeland Gap

Engineers and planners are busy trying to assure that contracts are awarded this year for the M-Path Extension. That's the project to close the Dadeland Gap, the 1.2-mile space between SW 67th Avenue and the Dadeland South Metrorail station.

Miami-Dade Transit, the path's owner, is reviewing comments on its plans in order to meet tomorrow's deadline at the state Department of Transportation. DOT wants the advertisement for bids to go out in time for a contract award before Dec. 31. Since this job is using federal economic stimulus money, starting it anytime soon depends on meeting that December deadline.

Car columnist pokes a stick in our spokes

Chris Woodyard, the auto writer at USA Today, filed a column this week asking, Have motorists let bicyclists' 'rights' go too far? At the least it's a sign of the work that's ahead of us in making the case that streets are for all users.

New signals a break for bikers, walkers

Have you noticed those eye-popping new signals being installed at a few crosswalks around town? I haven't found any with controls that pick up a bicycle's approach, but such an installation would seem just the ticket where the M-Path crosses Bird Road, for instance. Anyway, those neon yellow signs fairly scream, "Look out!" ... And the flashing light that responds to your touch on the sign button would seem impossible to miss. Hey, click on the photo and look at the solar cell on top of the sign post. Cool!

Several of the signals, for instance one opposite Fresh Market in Coconut Grove, are installed midblock. I first heard of signals like this when Gabrielle Redfern of Miami Beach, as a member of the Bicycle-Pedestrian Advisory Committee, proposed them for a particularly troublesome spot under discussion at the time.

Saturday ride to show care for climate

A bike ride from Vizcaya Metrorail Station this Saturday, Oct. 24, will be part of a global call for serious reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.

Riders will make their way through downtown Miami to Bicentennial Park, where they'll find phone lines and petitions for reaching out to the U.S. Senate. At 2 p.m., everybody will gather for a big group photo between the park and American Airlines Arena. The crowd will be arranged in the figures 350, signifying the 350 parts per million that's supposed to be the most CO2 content the Earth's atmosphere can accommodate without grave harm. (By some accounts, the current level is closer to 390 ppm.)

To make the ride, be at Vizcaya Metrorail Station at 11 a.m. Bring water and sunscreen, and wear green.

This whole thing is organized by 350.org and 1Sky Florida, whose websites will tell you more.

They're bike lanes, not parking

Those new bike lanes on Coral Way are already attracting users. Unfortunately, the ones I saw this evening were motorists idling their engines while waiting for someone or running errands.

Until more people get used to this novelty, I guess the police are going to have to remind drivers not to block the lanes. Cyclists should be alert to this; Coral Way is not a good street for avoidance maneuvers.

For a while, let's make an extra effort to use Coral Way. The sight of bikes in the bike lanes is the best reminder of what they are for.

Bike advocate endorsed for Beach commission

Transportation activist Gabrielle Redfern won the endorsement of The Miami Herald in her race for Miami Beach City Commission. In case you're a Beach voter, you'll find her on your ballot in Group 3. Here's her statement on transportation issues:

I have spent the last decade with other concerned residents, City, County and State public works and transportation staff and the preeminent traffic consultants and researchers in this area to learn that the answers, although not easy, are there. I have a plan for public transportation that increases mobility on the Beach, and interconnectivity to the mainland, I have a plan for parking that increases the availability of spaces to residents while reducing the out of pocket expenses to them. I have a plan that will make our City more urban and greener at the same time. The six other members of the Commission many not agree on everything all the time, but my ideas on solving our transportation and parking issues are solid, based on real data and, according to the other Candidates, are the starting point for a resolution to this serious problem that effects us all everyday.

The other Group 3 candidates are invited to submit their own statement.

Two bike paths to link up at Dadeland

Construction began this week to connect the M-Path and the South Dade Trail, closing the oft-lamented Dadeland Gap. The earthmovers started making room for realigned parking at the Dadeland South train station, so the M-Path extension can follow the lot's eastern side between Kendall Drive and Datran Boulevard. This work will aid riders in crossing busy Kendall Drive and avoid the homeless hangout where Metrorail parkers exit onto Kendall.

Closing the Dadeland Gap has been an advocacy project of Green Mobility Network since early this year. Congratulations to us all for this welcome progress.

Red light means yellow to many

Bicyclists and red lights have an uneasy relationship. We're glad the signals help us get across a busy street, but for many cyclists the red means slow, not stop, unless there's other traffic in view to the left or right. Christopher Beam, writing today in Slate, chews over the puzzle and comes down in favor of common sense. Enjoy the read right here.

A victory of sorts for Saratoga biking mom

That school district in Saratoga Springs, NY, a laughingstock among cyclists around the country, granted half a loaf to an activist mom who defied a ban and biked daily with her son to his elementary school. Now children can bike to school and back if a parent rides with them and the parent files a permission letter with the school. The school board decision also authorizes individual schools to set other conditions. A few more details are at WNYT. .

Book Fair's perfect for a bicycle outing

When you make your plans to attend the Miami Book Fair International (Nov. 8-15), how about planning to go by bike? It makes perfect sense, doesn't it? Daniel Perez, the Slow Bike Miami blogger, is talking up the idea and I think he's going to get enough people interested that we'll see something happen.

Each ride a statement for a healthy climate

While most of us ride bicycles because it's fun, I wonder how often we think of how our two-wheeled transportation also helps slow climate change. It's true, you know. When we bike instead of drive, we avoid burning motor fuel and throwing that much more Earth-warming carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. What you're doing to prevent global warming is just one more reason to feel good about your next ride. And a very good reason to invite others to join us. Just do it.

For more facts about global warming, click here.

Roundabouts saving lives, fuel

In the interests of safer streets, I share this note from friend Bob Buckman up in Lafayette, La:

There was an interesting segment on CBS Sunday Morning the other day about a town in the Netherlands that replaced all its four-way intersections with roundabouts. I've been preaching them as a means of saving time and fuel, but it turns out they also save lives. The town councilwoman responsible for the change said before the roundabouts, two to four people were killed a year at each intersection because of people running red lights. Since the roundabouts, zero fatalities. She theorized it's because people HAVE to pay closer attention going through a roundabout. I can corroborate that with my own experience navigating them in Belgium, France and England during my R&R. I can't think of a better use of all that stimulus money that's being squandered in make-work, pork-barrel projects. But who listens to me?

Makes you feel good about all our new roundabouts in and around Miami, doesn't it?

Car lobbyist speaks

This little satire from StreetFilms.org will amuse you while your coffee's brewing:

Cellphone law curbing bad driver habit

A ban on driving while using a cellphone has markedly reduced that dangerous behavior in Washington, D.C., the Washington Post reports. This is a driver habit that worries just about every street bicyclist I know.

Researchers concluded that hand-held use dropped by 41 percent immediately and five years later remains 43 percent below where it would have been without the ban, based on statistical models. Both New York state and Connecticut recorded sharper declines in use just after their hand-held bans took effect, but more people resumed using them in those states with the passage of time. "It appeared that stronger enforcement of the D.C. ban may have led to the sustained lower use rates compared with New York," the study says. Five other states also have banned use of hand-held phones for drivers.

Such a ban was proposed in Florida earlier this year, but didn't get out of the state Legislature. The sponsor, state Sen. Fredericka Wilson, is back this fall with an effort to ban text-messaging while driving -- a particularly troublesome use of cellphones. There's more about the D.C. study at washingtonpost.com

Dallas resumes helmet-law enforcement

Dallas police are again enforcing a city ordinance requiring bicycle riders to wear a helmet. Enforcement was suspended in June after a judge ruled it unconstitutional in a case where the law appeared to have been used as a pretext for a drug search. Now, with that ruling under appeal, enforcement has begun again. The local statute applies to adults as well as children. As you could imagine, the report in the Dallas Morning News kicked off plenty of lively comment.

Bicycle association honors South Floridians

The Florida Bicycle Association is honoring Mary Jane Mark, owner of Mack Cycle & Fitness in South Miami, for her long and active support of cycling beyond the needs of her own business. The store's outreach includes fun rides and a long-running triathlon series on Key Biscayne, plus participation in the National Bike Summit and aid to local bicycle advocates.

The association also recognized Miami Mayor Manny Diaz for his Bicycle Action Plan, and he and his aide Kathryn Moore for Bike Miami Days, the series of Sunday festivals that drew thousands of bicyclists, strollers and skateboarders onto downtown streets.

The Broward County Commission and Mayor Stacy Ritter were recognized for bicycle-friendly efforts reaching back to the 1980s, since when developers have been required to provide wide curb lanes on all new streets -- a farsighted decision that eased creation of 250 miles of on-road bicycle facilities. Just last year, Broward provided $30 million to start a countywide network of greenways.

Miami OKs three bike bills

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The Miami City Commission passed the city's first bike master plan today, without opposition. Only commissioners Sarnoff, Sanchez and Regalado were voting on the plan, one of Mayor Manny Diaz's signature initiatives as his term of office winds down. The plan was amended, at the Miami River Commission's request, to more specifically include the Miami River and Overtown greenways.


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After hours of debate, a compromise plan for developing Virginia Key was adopted. The compromise, sponsored by Commissioner Sarnoff, was to go ahead now with building mountain bike trails on the key's North Point, but to defer decisions for the rest of the key until May 2010. There's been an offer from the mountain bikers who use Oleta River State Park to supply trained volunteers o build trails on North Point, at negligible cost to the cash-short city. At Oleta, members of the support group, Oleta River Adventure Association, ride free while others pay $4.

The resolution for bicycle parking in major new construction also passed its first reading, 4-0, with Commissioner Gonzalez missing from the dais. The parking proposal was written by the city's transportation department in parallel to the bike master plan, the latter outsourced to Street Plans Collaborative. The next commission meeting will be Oct. 22.

Parent succeeds in bike day debut

Faithful reader Dina Weinstein sent in this photo from yesterday's Walk or Bike to School Day event that she organized at Temple Beth Am day school in Pinecrest. She said 150 children took part in the event, a first for the school.

Bike issues on afternoon agenda

The Miami City Commission will take up two bicycle resolutions at around 2:30 p.m. today, I am told at City Hall. These are the Bicycle Master Plan and a bicycle parking requirement for major new construction. The Virginia Key Master Plan also is on the afternoon agenda, as early as 2 p.m.

Causeway alert: Virginia Key

Columbus Day cyclists, be aware of the Caribbean Beach Festival starting Monday, Oct. 12, at 4 p.m. at Virginia Key Beach Park. It runs through the evening and organizers are planning for an attendance of 3,000 to 5,000 people.

Bikes, bikes, bikes on Miami agenda

Please make plans now to either attend Thursday's Miami City Commission meeting or send a note to the commission member you know best. On the agenda for Thursday are three things of special importance to bicyclists:

• The Bicycle Master Plan, looking years into the future with a comprehensive set of improvements for Miami's streets and other public facilities. The plan doesn't address how they'll be paid for, but the money isn't likely to turn up without a plan.
  

• A bicycle parking resolution, calling for secure, off-street parking at all future construction of R-3 or higher density.

• Mountain biking paths as part of the Virginia Key Master Plan, hastily rewritten over the summer and conditionally approved by the Waterfront Advisory Board on Monday night.

The Bicycle Master Plan is remarkably thorough for the time it took to write it. Miami will be proud, someday, if this plan is adopted now and followed through next year and beyond.

The parking resolution could be better. For instance, a note I sent to City Hall earlier today on behalf of Green Mobility Network:

I was disappointed that the covered-parking angle was removed from the draft bicycle-parking resolution. For a Miami cyclist, open-air parking is a risky proposition. Rain damages the bike's chain and brake cables, and you can imagine what it feels like to rest on the bike saddle after one of our afternoon cloudbursts. Then there's the sun, cooking the plastic or leather parts until they split. Shelter makes it possible to keep a bike in good condition. If we're going to have bicycle commuting, we need sheltered parking.

I am conscious of the concerns of small business owners. Let's consider that some of them are cyclists, too, and certainly some of their employees are cyclists. For a fellow making minimum wage in a kitchen somewhere, a bicycle may be the only transportation he can afford. Let's give the guy a break -- a dry, secure place to park his wheels.

Then there's Virginia Key, a potentially priceless jewel of a park right on Biscayne Bay. I don't know why or how mountain biking was removed from the Virginia Key Master Plan, but the Waterfront Advisory Board clearly wants it put back in, and the mayor's chief of staff, Javier Fernandez, indicated Monday night that it will be restored. If it's not, we'll just have to keep pushing.

Cyclists don't figure in state plans for Sunset

State highway engineers will show their plans Wednesday evening for the repaving of Sunset Drive west of South Miami. This is just the kind of project where we look for a way to include bicycle lanes, as in the Coral Way repaving that's close to completion east of Miami's Roads neighborhood. For various reasons, right now there are no bike lanes in the blueprints for Sunset. And that's unfortunate, for frequent riders along that corridor tell me they have not found alternate routes that go all the way through to points of interest such as Ludlam school, South Miami Hospital, downtown South Miami or the Metrorail station.

The project does include adding a five-foot sidewalk on the side of Sunset that currently does not have one. Certainly that should be done, and not only because the Americans with Disabilities Act calls for it. This is not a case of bicyclists vs. pedestrians. Both we who walk and we who bike, as well as wheelchair users, want to see streets designed for all who use them and not just for motor cars.

I recommend that cyclists from the area be at South Miami Library at 6 p.m. on Wednesday the 7th, and courteously make the case for what we need. The project area, by the way, extends from SW 69th Avenue to SW 84th Place.

Mountain biking urged for Va. Key plan

Half a dozen speakers asked Miami's Waterfront Advisory Board tonight to get mountain-biking trails back into the Virginia Key Master Plan. The board, in turn, recommended the plan for City Commission passage -- providing the mountain-bike trails and a small BMX course are restored.

The board also called for, among other things, putting a public boat ramp closer to other marine activity instead of on the key's North Point, where the two bike facilities and extensive habitat restoration were proposed.

Most of the evening's speakers at Miami City Hall said the plan today is better than the one unveiled in June, which drew much fire from environmentalists for all the car parking and concrete it anticipated.

Mountain bike trails cut from Virginia Key plan

A new version of the Virginia Key Master Plan is up for review this evening by the Miami Waterfront Advisory Board. The mountain bike trails long proposed for the spoil bank north of the sewer plant were omitted from the latest draft prepared by the planning firm EDSA. The plan asserts that it includes an additional four miles of meandering bike-pedestrian paths, but I haven't spotted them in the document.

The waterfront board meets at 6:30 p.m. at Miami City Hall. Its recommendation is supposed to go to the City Commission on Thursday -- the same meeting as the Miami Bicycle Master Plan and the proposed bicycle parking ordinance. Thursday is shaping up as a big day for cyclists.

Bike ride starts a school day right

Young mother Dina Weinstein writes in today's Miami Herald about organizing parents to take part in Walk or Bike to School Day on Wednesday.

It is a chance to get more exercise, teach safe walking and biking skills to children, [and] raise awareness about whether the neighborhood has a safe route to walk and bike and where improvements might be needed. It shows our concern for the environment, reduces traffic congestion and pollution and brings children, parents and community leaders together.

Dina bikes daily with her two sons on their way to and from school at Temple Beth Am. Read her full article here.

12-year-old breaks rules to bike to school

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So did you hear about the school system in upstate New York that forbids children to walk or bike to school? According to the Albany Times-Union, a 12-year-old and his mom have been breaking the rules daily by pedaling four miles down U.S. 9 to Maple Avenue Middle School at Saratoga Springs. The school stands two or three miles north of the famed Saratoga racetrack, and on a satellite map the neighborhood hardly looks congested. There's a photo of the street at Huffington Post. I would imagine Interstate 87, a mile to the east, would handle any heavy traffic in the area. Well, young Adam Marino and his mom may catch a break. When the school board meets on Oct. 13, the no bike/no walk rule will be reviewed, the Times-Union writes.