Does your kid bike to school?

 
Walk to School / Bike to School Day is next Wednesday, Oct. 6. You don't have to wait for then to help your kid adopt this healthy habit, of course, but it's a good time to do so.  Is your neighborhood school taking part? There's still time to get it going. 

Lessons abound in one cyclist's injury

Street-riding cyclists, and anyone who plans or builds streets and sidewalks, should read Keri Caffrey's eyewitness account of a rider being hit by a right-turning motorist. The article at Caffrey's Commute Orlando blog, and the thoughtful comments, challenge the common practice of building streets mainly as pipelines for torrents of cars. If you study Caffrey's diagram of the accident, you have to wonder whether the rider might have escaped injury if he had ridden in the motor lane instead of the bike lane. Under this year's HB971, of course, the rider would have risked a traffic ticket. Come to think of it, state Rep. Ellyn Bogdanoff, who rammed that bill through to passage, also ought to read the piece.

Cyclists smile on 2nd Avenue

Photographer Liam Crotty did a swell job documenting South Florida Bike Coalition's celebration of new bike lanes in the Design District.

Safety shirt a hit with cyclists

Nick Sortal reports in the Sun-Sentinel that Joe Mizereck has sold 2,000 of his eye-catching yellow shirts that publicize Florida's 3-foot law -- the one that requires drivers to keep at least three feet away when passing a bicyclist. If you check out Nick's readable report, perhaps you'll be inspired to respond to the boors who seized the opportunity for some brainless anti-cycling trash talk. Thanks to Tom Burton for the photo!

Help design a better bike lock

Please take a minute to help a mechanical engineering team from the University of Wisconsin - Madison. They're attempting to design a lightweight, compact, easy to use, total bicycle security system. It will take you barely more than a minute to answer their survey.

Check your duds for a Seersucker Social

Here's the latest themed ride from Green Mobility Network: A Seersucker Social The date is Oct. 16 and the starting time 10:30 a.m. There's a picnic lunch available, too.

A bike lane for Miami Design District

With the repaving of NE 2nd Avenue through the Design District, there's now a southbound bike lane for a few blocks opposite Design and Architecture Senior High School (DASH). There's no northbound lane, though. Sharrows on that side will complete the facility. 
This was one of the first projects looked at when the city's Bicycle Action Committee was getting started under former Mayor Manny Diaz. A tip of the helmet to the Regalado administration for following through, even removing on-street parking along the west side of 2nd. 

BPAC meets Wednesday

Just a reminder: The Miami-Dade Bicycle-Pedestrian Advisory Committee is to meet Wednesday, Sept. 22, at 5:30 p.m., in the CITT Conference Room on the 10th floor at County Hall, 111 NW 1st St., Miami.

A bid for parks, less asphalt

Olga Cano pauses next to Green Mobility Network bike rack during today's PARKing Day event in Coconut Grove. The annual conversion of curbside parking spaces into grassy parks is a worldwide plea for greener, more human-friendly cities. The main forces behind Miami's observance included the Emerging Professionals section of the South Florida Green Building Council and City Commissioners Marc Sarnoff and Francis Suarez.

Dolphins launch charity bike ride

The Miami Dolphins are launching a two-day, 170-mile charity bike ride through some of South Florida's most beautiful spots.  The Dolphins Cycling Challenge will start at Bayfront Park in Miami, turn around overnight at City Place in West Palm Beach, and swing back to Sun Life Stadium, where riders will get a glorious welcome on the field where the Dolphins play.  The ride is the brainchild of Dolphins chief exec Mike Dee, an annual rider in the long-successful Pan-Mass Challenge.  This ride, with a $150 entry fee and a fundraising target of $1,500 per rider, will benefit the University of Miami's Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, where the event was announced Monday. Learn more from the Dolphins, the Miami Herald and the Challenge website.

M-Path walk signals going up at Bird Road

A highway department contractor was installing walk signals today for the busy intersection where the M-Path crosses Bird Road alongside U.S. 1 in Miami. This is Raul Borges, the foreman supervising the work for Horsepower Electric.  The new signals are not in operation yet, but I'm eager to see how they affect this longtime trouble spot for cyclists and walkers.

Is it too much to hope that a loop will be installed under the path to detect oncoming bicycles so riders don't have to stop and push a button?  The button on the north side of Bird, by the way, would be a lot more helpful it it was rotated so approaching path users could see it before reaching the curb.  As seems to be routine around here, the button and informative placard have been installed facing the street instead.

A cyclist's question for Florida's next governor

If you're wondering how cyclists' interests would be affected by the Florida governor election, check out the question I posted today at 10Questions.com.


Please give the question a thumbs-up, and pose your own questions if you feel inclined. Candidates Rick Scott (R) and Alex Sink (D) will be confronted with the questions between now and November.

Stimulus lights up Miami Springs bike path

LIGHTS, STIMULUS, ACTION: Ester Orta, Amelia Eiriz and Gustavo Orta, of Hialeah, enjoy an evening stroll along a newly-lit portion of Miami Springs' bike path lighting project on North Royal Poinciana Boulevard.  A federal stimulus grant, through the state Department of Transportation, paid about half the bill. (THEO KARANTSALIS)

Realtor assures bicycle parking on his block

A bike advocate in Northampton, Mass., is paying his city $5 a day to assure there's space for 10 bikes to park on the street near his real estate office. Craig Della Penna signed a deal with the city to get a hood locked onto a parking meter, and installed a portable 10-bike bike rack in the curbside space. Read the whole story at Northampton Media.