State to avoid Snapper crossing for M-Path

The state Department of Transportation has taken back management of a project to close the Dadeland Gap, constructing the last 1.2 miles of the M-Path near Dadeland Mall. As presented to the Bicycle-Pedestrian Advisory Committee on Wednesday night, the idea of the trail crossing the mouth of the Snapper Creek Expressway at grade level has been dropped. From the path's present southern end at SW 67th Avenue, the route will start along U.S. 1 (S. Dixie Highway), turn west at the expressway and pass beneath it to reach SW 70th Avenue.

A county contractor started building the south end of the new stretch several weeks ago, leading to a crossing of North Kendall Drive at the crosswalk next to U.S. 1.

When the Gap is closed, the M-Path will connect with the South Dade Trail to provide a continuous off-road route from Downtown Miami to Florida City.

Thousands ride in cyclist's memory

Thousands turn out for memorial on Rickenbacker Causeway - Miami-Dade Breaking News - MiamiHerald.com

Cars, phones 'the new DUI'?

Spurred by the deaths of two cyclists hit by a phone-texting motorist, South Carolina is moving to ban both texting and use of a hand-held cell phone by drivers. There's a full report in the Columbia newspaper, TheState.

Police to watch popular Miami bike route

Miami and Miami-Dade police are going to step up speed enforcement on the Rickenbacker Causeway, County Commissioner Carlos Gimenez said today as dozens of bicyclists and runners filled rows of seats at a commission meeting. Gimenez found ready support from fellow commissioners in the wake of last Sunday's hit-and-run crash that killed a South Miami bicyclist on the causeway's Bear Cut Bridge.

Gimenez said he'd spoken with both James Loftus, interim director of Miami-Dade Police, and Miami Mayor Tomas Regalado, and that both "have committed to additional enforcement of speed laws" on the causeway and Crandon Boulevard, both hugely popular with cyclists training for competition or just out for a ride in a beautiful place. In addition, he said the county's public works director will look at possible narrowing of traffic lanes. That's a road design technique that generally makes drivers slow down because they feel less comfortable.

The commissioner, who calls himself a former cyclist, vowed to dig to the bottom of the budget issues that led to Fire Station 15, two miles the spot of Sunday's crash, not being staffed at the time. Because the station wasn't to open until 10 a.m., a rescue truck was dispatched from South Miami, on the mainland 10 miles away.

"I agreed to support an extra 25-cent toll [for the causeway], on the understanding [that $1.3 million of proceeds] would go to 24-hour emergency service," Gimenez said. Since the station was cut back to parttime, though, he said he's been told the money never went to the department. "Well, I want it to go there," Gimenez said, "and if it does not I will move to lower the tolls."

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There's more on the commission meeting from Charles Rabin at The Miami Herald.

Helmet laws appear to discourage bicycling

There's further confirmation today that requiring kids to wear bike helmets does reduce head injuries. Unfortunately, helmet laws also lead to fewer kids riding, according to a study reported in the Freakonomics Blog of the New York Times:

“There is also robust evidence for an unintended and previously undocumented mechanism: helmet laws produced ... reductions in youth bicycling participation of 4-5 percent.”

Gimenez tells cyclists much they want to hear

Miami-Dade Commissioner Carlos Gimenez told cyclists and runners Wednesday evening that he's already talking with necessary contacts to improve the safety, speed enforcement and emergency response time on the Rickenbacker Causeway and Crandon Boulevard.

The group of 31 crowded into a conference room at County Hall at Gimenez's invitation, after many wrote or called him about Sunday's death of Christophe Le Canne on a causeway bridge, and why a nearby rescue truck wasn't dispatched after the initial 911 calls. The fire chiefs of Miami-Dade, Key Biscayne and Miami had agreed on Dec. 28, Gimenez said, about how to handle calls when the county station in Crandon Park is closed, as it was at 8 a.m. Sunday. "The question for me is why didn't 911 call Miami," he said.

Instead, Gimenez said, Miami twice offered to respond to the emergency and was told by the 911 that it wasn't necessary. Finally, the operator "self-dispatched," and a Miami truck arrived right behind the county one that had traveled from South Miami.

Gimenez and Commissioner Sally Heyman already had scheduled a commission discussion Thursday about alternatives to the parttime status of Station 15. {It's set for 3 p.m. sharp.) "If I can't resolve the Station 15 issue, I'll sit down with the three fire chiefs and work it out," Gimenez said.

Other concerns mentioned were speed enforcement, speed limits, and possibly closing one lane outbound and one inbound early on weekend mornings, when the most cyclists and runners are active on the causeway between Miami and Key Biscayne. "The county and the city need to do a much better job of enforcing the law," Gimenez said to general agreement. Maybe the city needs to do some alcohol screening at the toll gates, he said.

"It could have been anyone who got killed out there," said June Bendayan, making the point that all road users are endangered by speeders.

Commission taking up rescue cutbacks

Recent cutbacks in fire-rescue service on Key Biscayne will be reviewed by the Miami-Dade County Commission at 3 p.m. Thursday. Bicyclists from all over South Florida, alarmed by the death of a rider on Sunday, will be paying attention.

This matter was already on the commission agenda, after service hours at county Fire-Rescue Station 15 were reduced in December. The hit-and-run crash that killed Christophe Le Canne on Sunday, at an hour when the station was closed, drew broad public attention to the consequences of county budget-cutting.

To attend the meeting, go to the second floor of County Hall, 111 NW 1st Street, between 2:30 and 2:45 p.m. There are a few bike racks on the plaza at the southeast corner of the building. Use the best lock you can, though. Or take a bus or Metrorail.

Medic tells of cyclist's last minutes

If trained and willing aid had been enough to save bicyclist Christophe Le Canne, he might be in intensive care today at a South Florida hospital. "He was breathing. He had a pulse," Broward medic Jose Diaz said of what he found perhaps five minutes after a car hit Le Canne in the Rickenbacker Causeway bike lane and slammed him against the concrete wall that protects joggers and walkers.

"I could tell immediately that this was no ordinary injury," Diaz said. "His legs were broken. He had a massive head injury. He was bleeding fast."

Diaz is a cyclist himself, and a South Miami resident. Another medic, from Miami-Dade County, was riding with Diaz's club on Sunday when they came upon Le Canne's crumpled body on Bear Cut Bridge on the road to Key Biscayne. A physician stopped, too, and they all tried to help Le Canne breathe. But the bleeding from his mouth and ears continued.

"We had no tools to work with," Diaz said. "No airway tube. Nothing. It's a shame. It's hard for me to accept."

It took 22 minutes for a Miami-Dade crash truck to reach Bear Cut in response to the 911 calls. Diaz was pleading with the 911 operator to send a rescue team from Key Biscayne, or even Miami. "I told them, 'I know what I'm seeing here. I've been a medic 15 years.' "

Twenty-two minutes is pretty good time from the South Miami station from which the truck was dispatched along U.S. 1. Imagine how much less it would have taken from Station 15, two miles out Crandon Boulevard from the bridge -- but closed at 8 a.m. Sunday, when the crash happened. Five days a week, or after 10 a.m. on Sunday, Station 15 could have taken the call. The station's duty hours were curtailed in December, part of the county's budget-cutting.

"I would really like to see the firemen back at Station 15," Diaz said.

The rescue crew, when it arrived on Sunday, worked fast and efficiently to take care of Le Canne. It proved futile, though. "He had lost his pulse," Diaz said. The trip to Jackson Memorial Hospital was a desperation effort, what you do in hopes of a miracle. This Sunday morning, there was none.
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For more about the matter, see The Miami Herald and Green Mobility Network.

Rescue station unstaffed as economy measure

How it happened that Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Station 15, just two miles from where the bicyclist was slammed to his death on Bear Cut Bridge, was not in service at the time. It's a matter of money. Thanks for the link, Jaelanne!

Nobel laureate speaks up for cycling

Venkatraman Ramakrishnan is a world-class chemist and a committed cyclist. His views about cycling, setting an example for our children and wise use of resources are good reading at TreeHugger.

Singer charged in cyclist's death

Updated
The Venezuelan singer Carlos Bertonatti, right, faces multiple traffic charges, including vehicular homicide, following the death of a bicyclist yesterday on the road between Miami and Key Biscayne. Bertonatti, 27, was arrested near his Key Biscayne home after Christophe Le Canne was hit on the Bear Cut bridge and his cycle dragged some three miles down Crandon Boulevard.

When police found Bertonatti's Volkswagen Jetta it showed body damage and a smashed windshield. Le Canne, 44, of South Miami, lay dying on the roadside as cyclists who saw the accident tried to help him and pleaded with 911 operators to get a rescue truck to the scene.

Bertonatti's publicist, Patti Rodriguez, released this statement:

...Both Carlos and his family are devastated. Lives were changed forever and two families are grieving and going through an extremely difficult time. Carlos's wish at this time is for everyone's thoughts and prayers to be with the victim and his family. He is [profoundly] saddened and shocked with what has happened and his hopes are that we all reach out to help the family at this time for their loss. He and his entire family extend their deepest condolences and pray that God accompany both families in such a devastating time.

Bertonatti was ordered to surrender his passport and he was held in county pretrial detention. Bond was set at $100,000.

Oprah tackles cellphone driving

On today's Oprah Winfrey Show, a Florida mother tells how a truck driver distracted by his cell phone slammed into her daughter's school bus and killed the 13-year-old. Cyclists and our friends should watch if at all possible. It's on WFOR in Miami at 4 p.m. The mother, Elissa Schee, has joined a group of survivors of cellphone victims to try to raise public awareness and change safety laws to prevent this kind of accident. Several bills pending in the Florida Legislature would ban texting, but not the wider practice of talking by cell while driving. Here's an opportunity for some lawmaker to step forward and make an important contribution to public safety.

Cyclist run down and killed near Key Biscayne

A bicyclist was struck by a car and killed Sunday on the Bear Cut Bridge leading to Key Biscayne. Several riders in the area at the time commented at MiamiHerald.com that a silver VW Jetta sped past them just before striking the cyclist, described as a middle-aged man. You can see the car at the Key Biscayne Times. There's a dramatic photo at CBS4. At the Herald site, go to the comments for an eyewitness account from a member of the Colada riding club.

Part of the story is the time it took for a rescue squad to arrive. Though the rider was hit just a couple of miles from the Key Biscayne station, one of the riders, Carlos Fernandez, wrote that it was a county squad from the mainland that arrived 22 minutes after the 911 call.

Lee Marks, right, a bicyclist and lawyer who sits on the county's Bicycle-Pedestrian Advisory Committee, said he'll be asking tough questions at a County Commission meeting on Thursday.

Thoughts on sentence for assault on cyclist

Updated
Keri Caffrey and Bob Mionske had some worthwhile comments about the California doctor's sentence for using his car to cause a bicyclist to crash. You'll find Keri's call for a change in street culture, and selective quotes from Mionske, at the CommuteOrlando Blog.

Here's the full Mionske article, from the Los Angeles Times.

Survivors campaign for cell-free driving

Five individuals who lost a family member to distracted driving have banded together under the name Focus Driven to campaign against drivers using cell phones. Bicyclists care about this because we're especially exposed to inattentive motorists. You can learn more about the campaign right here.

A word to the wise about bikes on the bus

If you put your bike on one of the bus-front carriers in the Miami-Dade Transit system, be extra careful that the bike is fixed in place. That's the takeaway from Daniel Perez's tale on
Highmoon's Ponderings.

We're sorry about the bike, Dan, and hope to see you back on the street soon!

Four join bike-ped committee

Please extend good-luck wishes to the four new members of Miami-Dade's Bicycle-Pedestrian Advisory Committee. Appointed at the December meeting of the Metropolitan Planning Organization were:

• Jamie Caulkins, who is working for the University of Miami Medical School creating a bike safety program under the wings of the UM WalkSafe program. He's an appointee of County Commissioner Dorrin Rolle.
  
• Anne-Marie Jonckheer, from the North Miami Parks Department, appointed by Mayor Andre Pierre.
  
• Matthew Toro, a university student who has served on the committee in the past. He was appointed by Coral Gables City Commissioner William Kerdyk Jr.
  
• John Voss, vice president of the Oleta River Adventure Association, which runs mountain-biking activity at Oleta River State Park. He's also a past president of Everglades Bicycle Club and has been a key advocate for building mountain bike trails on Virginia Key. He was appointed by County Commissioner Audrey Edmonson.
  

These additions bring the group up to 17 members, which is as large as I recall it ever being. Congratulations, all of you!

Novelist pegged cities' future

Gather round for a blast from the past, via the typewriter of John D. MacDonald. Does he seem to describe a city you know?

". . . .they are ramming the monster highways through it, and one day soon it will become merely a momentary dinginess. ... In some remote year the historians will record that Twentieth Century America attempted the astonishing blunder of changing its culture to fit automobiles instead of people, putting a skin of concrete and asphalt over millions of acres of arable land, rotting the hearts of their cities, so encouraging the proliferation of murderous, high-speed junk that when finally the invention of the Transporton rendered the auto obsolete, it took twenty years and half a trillion dollars to obliterate the ugliness of all the years of madness, and rebuild the supercities in a manner to dignify the human instead of his toys."

The author of the Travis McGee mysteries back in the 1960s was lamenting what had happened to Tampa's historic Ybor City neighborhood. The quote's from MacDonald's Bright Orange for the Shroud. Thanks to Darla leTourneau for passing it around.

PB developing transportation plan for bicycles

A countywide bike master plan is in the works up at West Palm Beach.

"Basically, this county has ignored bicycles as much as they could," said Bob Sabin, president of the Boca Raton Bicycle Club. "I really think people want bike lanes where they can be put in. I don't think they want 10-lane roads."

[Now,] the Palm Beach MPO is spending about $150,000 of federal money to develop the plan that will ultimately be Palm Beach County's vision for cycling in the county and set the foundation for future decisions regarding bicycle transportation.

Read more at the Sun-Sentinel.

Elite moves shop next to South Dade Trail

K.C. Boutiette is moving his Elite Cycling & Fitness from its Pinecrest location a few blocks south to 13108 South Dixie Hwy. That's going to be a lot more convenient for users of the M-Path and the South Dade Trail, and also appears to have more parking for cyclists who arrive by motor. Look for his shop on the west side of Dixie in the block just before the Walgreens at SW 132nd Street. Tell him you heard it here, eh?

So long, training wheels!

A new gyroscopic front wheel for kids' bicycles is designed to do away with training wheels and give young riders a better start in learning confidence and control of a bike. The Gyrowheel was invented by four young engineers from Dartmouth College, and it's coming onto the market early this year. Take a look.



Want to know more? Visit Gyrobike.

Key West cyclists vs. the tyranny of speed

Bicycle facilities alone do not make a city safe for bicycling, Mighk Wilson writes after his latest visit to Florida's southernmost city. Road users' knowledge and attitudes are equally important. For all who hope to make Miami bicycle-friendly, I recommend Mighk's thoughtful post on Bicycling is Better.

Inflator from WalMart recalled

If you're packing a Zefal CO{+2} tire inflator in your seat bag, you'd better take a look at this recall report in the Hartford Courant.

Cell phone sanity dawning

It's clear by now that there is a widespread movement to ban text-messaging from behind the wheel of a motor vehicle -- news that many bicyclists will applaud. A state ban in New Hampshire went into effect yesterday, and today's New York Times reports that 200 such bills are pending around the country. Some of the bills would prohibit not only texting, but any cellphone use -- even with a hands-free device.

As cyclists are well aware, the problem with cellphones is that, however they are used, they distract a driver from the road and what's happening nearby. It's like what happens when you're deep in conversation with a riding pal and fail to notice a pothole until it ruins your tire or tosses you over the handlebars.

A cellphone law was proposed in Florida last year and got nowhere. The sponsor, Sen. Frederica Wilson of Miami, is trying again, this time with visible Republican support that should give the modest bill a better chance. U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood is leading the charge at the national level, and has done a fine job pointing out the dangers of distracted driving.

This could bring as big an improvement in road safety as seat belts and air bags did -- with benefits for all road users and not only the motorists. It's time to do it.