Show your civic pride by exercising your right to be heard! Photo credit: Captain Kimo / Foter / CC BY-NC-ND

Dear City Council Member,

As you can see from this article, Duval County, Florida, is a dangerous place for biking. There are many of us who do ride in Jacksonville and we want to change this. For me personally, biking has been very beneficial. I have reduced my carbon footprint, improved my cardiovascular health, and have saved thousands of dollars. I know many other bikers whose lives have similarly improved as a result of biking. However, the dangerous climate in Jacksonville threatens our ability to read with a sense of peace.

We ask that you join us in taking steps to change that. We want to see the roads improved, and when those improvements are made, we want bike lanes added to the roads. According to Florida law, bicyclists have the same rights as motorists. Unfortunately, many Florida drivers deny bicyclists their rights. We feel that comprehensive education on bicyclists’ rights is essential to improving biking in Jacksonville.

Improved biking in Jacksonville is good not only for those of us who live and work here, it’s good for tourists as well. I would like to set up a time to come to your office and discuss this matter with you, face-to-face. I will follow up with a phone call in a few days.

Thank you for your time and attention.

Sincerely,
Jack

The post What to Say to Jacksonville City Council Members About Biking appeared first on Bike Jax.

Photo credit: NateShow / Foter / CC BY

There’s a litany of reasons why: wide and fast roadways, lack of safety education, bad drivers, under-equipped bicyclists, yearlong riding weather, and lagging infrastructure and laws. The powers-that-be realize it’s a problem. Many safety advocates, planners, lawmakers and law enforcement are patching together solutions.

I do wonder how much “yearlong riding weather” skews the stats; if more people bike and for longer, it follows that there will be more crashes, right? The irony, though, is that people in the “bike-friendly” cities do bike year round, and in much worse weather — and still have fewer crashes.

The thing is, cities did not become bike friendly as a result of fairy dust or stars aligning. It happened only after people a) got on their bikes and b) advocated for safe biking. We’re already do a. So let’s do b. Locate your Jacksonville city council member on this list and write him or her a letter. Say that you think 281 bike crashes is too many, and that you want the city to take action to make things better for people who bike. Tell them why you ride, and how improved biking would impact your life. I’ll draft a sample letter and post it up here. Don’t copy it word for word, please.

After you send your letter, call to follow up. Get an appointment for a face-to-face meeting if you can. Remember, the squeaky wheel gets the grease, so you gotta be prepared to make noise!

The post Florida Bike Crashes appeared first on Bike Jax.

Laws Governing When a Child Can Ride Their Bike?

Two years ago, 13 year old Brien Alvezios was killed riding his bike along Branan Field Road in Clay County. The driver fled the scene. This is still a topic we have to think about.

Per usual, comments on the Times-Union Article point at the cyclist as the fault. Despite the article providing little to no information other than location, time of incident, and that the driver fled the scene (no details at all are given about the young cyclist other than his age and condition), there is a fair amount of questioning as to why a teenager is out riding his bike at night. But one comment left on the Bike Jax Facebook has haunted me since I read it. The comment that sent shivers down my spine was, “Maybe they’ll charge his parents.” I instantly recalled articles from earlier this year where parents were threatened with removal by Child Protective Services for allowing their child to ride a bike to school. Or the Atlanta mother charged with Vehicular Homicide when her child was struck and killed while they attempted to cross a 4 lane highway without crosswalks. Yes, lets put the blame on the parents for inadequately designed roads.

Since we don’t have completed details and all the information, we are left to assumptions. So let’s assume this young cyclist did everything correctly. He was wearing a helmet (required by FL law for those under 16), was wearing light colored clothing ( not required by FL law for any age), had both front & rear lights, was controlling the lane since the lane is of substandard width as pictured below.

I have yet to find any law or statute governing what time of day or night a parent can or cannot allow a child to ride his/her bike. Assuming that this young man did everything correctly given the situation, who is at fault? The driver who fled the scene most certainly is. But are they alone in blame? The parents for allowing their child to ride a bike at night? The child himself?….Maybe we should look deeper into who’s really at fault.

First and foremost in my mind is FDOT. They designed and maintain the road. Utility poles are usually a very good indicator right-of-ways. Notice the amount of room on the right side of this road for any type of infrastructure in the way bike lanes, multi-use path, or even sidewalk that may have prevented this tragedy. But I’m willing to bet that extra space is being reserved for additional travel lanes. Because it’s far more important to move cars than people.

Second is the County itself for allowing this road to built in the manor it is, without regard to pedestrians or cyclists.

But, are these agencies really to blame? Perhaps if city, county and state governments hands weren’t tied by something that within the road planning and design groups is known simply as, “The Manual.” To the laymen it’s the The MUTCD or the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices. This manual dictates every part of your driving habits and experience on every road you travel on. There is almost nothing contained in it that cover bicycle infrastructure and the safety of cyclist or pedestrians. This manual is completely about the movement of the automobile. Maybe the blame should be laid on the purveyors of this Manual.

Maybe the blame should be spread around? Maybe a little goes to Club Riders, vehicular cyclists and the Florida Bicycle Association. Club riders and vehicular cyclists for fighting any type of cycling infrastructure that will take them off the road and keeping children them. FBA for not doing enough to promote cycling as transportation and it’s continued support of bicycles as recreation and toys along with the promotion of the culture of fear.

Maybe the the blame goes even deeper, maybe we should take a look at the colleges and universities that teach our planners, designers and engineers to be manual reading zombies who are incapable of thinking outside of the box.

I do know one thing for sure, the family of Brien Alvezios have suffered a great loss as has all the friends and families of everyone who has lost someone to bad or inattentive drivers or lacking road design. And it will continue to happen until cities, counties and state governments wake the hell up and design infrastructure to move people and not cars.

I’m aware that I am opening a can of worms with some of my statements above. But I do so in the hopes of creating a dialog. Let’s talk about it, who is or isn’t at fault for this and all other tragic losses of life while using our roadways? Who’s to blame for the current state of bicycling culture and the total lack of infrastructure for both cyclists and pedestrians? How young is too young ride a bike alone on our streets?

The post How Young Is Too Young appeared first on Bike Jax.

I thought I’d share a letter that I received from the Director of the second annual Mt. Acosta Classic. I encourage all to attend!

My name is Marie Vogler and I am an architect at Haskell, located on Riverside Avenue. I am also the Race Director for the second annual Mt. Acosta Classic. On behalf of the team organizing the Mt. Acosta Classic, I am inviting you to become a part of our event to be held on Sunday, May 4th, 2014 at 3:00 pm starting from the Haskell Building at 111 Riverside Avenue. The event will have something for everyone with the proceeds benefiting the Jared Bynum Scholarship Foundation.

Jared Bynum, a committed runner and triathlete, suddenly and tragically lost his life on Sunday, October 7, 2012 when he was struck from behind by an SUV while on his last 100 mile training ride before the Florida Ironman.
Jared was a large supporter of anything and everything local. In the two years that I knew Jared, he often chose group meeting places based on what local restaurant he could bring more attention to. A group could be meeting for a training event and the meeting place was almost always based on what the perfect place would be to top off the workout. As a co-worker and training partner of Jared’s, I am extending an invitation to you all to become a part of this event.

For the Mt. Acosta Classic, it is our intention to showcase the local establishments the day of the race. Along with the local biking, running and adventure shops, we would like to team up with you – the future vision of Jacksonville. With the large turnout that we are expecting, we are looking forward to bringing your visions to the forefront of the community.

In 2010, Jared and his wife, Kelli, started mentoring at-risk students at Julia Landon Middle School through their church, Southside Baptist. After his fatal accident, a scholarship fund to help pay college tuition costs for a deserving Landon student from an underprivileged background was started in his honor.

In memory of Jared, the Mt. Acosta Classic is held to raise money for the Jared Bynum Scholarship Fund. We are expecting a turnout of more than 500 people. I have included a letter with sponsorship opportunities listed. While we are making sure to keep this event a local one with only local businesses, I would like to get you all on board – even if that is only your support of our event with fliers that we can distribute in race packets or even banners that we can use to place within the 2.2 mile loop of the Acosta Bridge.
Feel free contact me at the email address or phone number listed below if there are any questions I can answer. I would love to team up with you guys and get our event on your calendar while we bring attention to your vision. To register for the event go to: www.1stplacesports.com The Mt Acosta Classic Committee looks forward to your participation.

Thank you!

The post Mt. Acosta Classic appeared first on Bike Jax.

The answer my friends is when it is installed as a barrier. I found myself by St. Augustine Rd. and University Blvd. the other day needing to swing into a Publix to pick some stuff up. Luckily there was a big brand new one right there on the corner. I parked and smiled as I noticed the new shiny potato-masher style bike rack right up front close to the entrance of the store. I noted in my head that I thought it was placed a tad to close to curb however.

It wasn’t until I returned outside that it hit me why the bike rack was placed where it is. It was never meant to used as bike rack. It’s sole purpose is to act as barrier for the propane gas canisters located behind it.

Not a Bike Rack

Looking at the picture above you can see what I am talking about. If a cyclist were to use the rack as designed, part of the bike would overhang into the roadway, which could lead to damage of the bike. If a cyclist were to lock his/her bike so as not to overhang the curb, it would then completely block the sidewalk while also preventing access to the propane canisters. As you can see from the picture there are only two items located along this sidewalk, the propane display and the bike rack. I might also point out it is a very long sidewalk by storefront standards as there was another 25-30 feet of it behind me and not pictured here.

So why does Publix place a bike rack right in front of a propane display in an unusable state if not solely to act as a barrier and protection from automobiles?

The post When Is A Bike Rack Not A Bike Rack? appeared first on Bike Jax.

With this growth in the use of the bicycle, it was only a matter of time before folks in the area would start looking at their bikes as a source of income; one of those individuals is Ben Wilson (pictured above). Tired of working under flourescent lights and corporate structure, Ben decided to take his 12 years of management in the grocery industry and love for bicycling to start Community Couriers, a full service shopping and delivery experience.

We all know the insanity of trying to find parking around any of the shopping hubs in the urban core. Not only do you have to deal with finding parking, but then you have to deal with Florida weather, which at any moment is oppressive heat, tropical wind and rain, or a combination of all of the above. Using the Community Couriers service allows you stay home out of weather, and is very simple to use. Text or email in your shopping list or use an app to make your list, and they will take care of the shopping and delivery. The great thing is you’re not just limited to purchases from major grocery chains, you can also request your items from local green/heath food sellers, as well as the Farmers Market. Ben’s experience in the grocery business means he knows how to find you the best and freshest meats and produce.

What about those other errands you usually accomplish while out doing your grocery shopping? Community Couriers will handle those also. Just let them know and along with your groceries they will pick up that package or the dry cleaning.

Community Couriers is an exciting new addition to the urban core and I hope to see them succeed and grow.

The post Bikers Help Get your Shopping Done appeared first on Bike Jax.

To give you a quick run-down of what’s going on right now, here’s a quick history of the Mobility Plan and the fee this post is talking about:

• In 2009, Jacksonville adopted the 2030 Mobility Plan which would make developers pay a nominal, specific transportation fee when developing land away from our city center, with more fees being charged the farther they develop from the urban core. When adopted, the plan was hailed for being a smart way for our sprawl-laden city to move forward and encourage positive, more dense growth. The Mobility Fees go toward pedestrian, bike, and mass transit development– sidewalks, bus stops, bike lanes, and the like. Included in the 2030 Mobility Plan are specific bike/ped/mass transit projects that would be funded with these moneys by 2030, if fees are collected as expected.
• Mobility fees were put on hold with a Mobility Fee Moratorium in September of 2011, with a bill passed by City Council. The logic here was that the fees assessed for Mobility put too much of a strain on, and spurred development and job growth. The introduction of this Moratorium was sudden, and didn’t give the public much time for input.
• The Mobility Fee Moratorium ended in October 2012, and much rejoicing occurred among bike/ped/mass transit activists all around!

Now, it’s only been four months since the moratorium ended, and Councilman Richard Clark is sponsoring a new legislation (bill number 2012-94) which would essentially place a three-year moratorium on fees. Three years without the collection of these funds would push back some much needed, community-linking projects. I’ll list out why we believe this legislation should be shut down ASAP.

• A few City Council members have expressed during council meetings that they believe that imposing a fee on developers spurs economic and job growth.
  • There is no study in existence that shows that the Mobility Fee Moratorium created economic growth or jobs.  If I am wrong, and there is one, please let me know!
  • Pedestrian and bicycle related improvements create MORE jobs than road projects. According to a study titled Estimating the Employments of Pedestrian, Bicycle, and Road Infrastructure “pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure projects create 11-14 jobs per $1 million of spending while road infrastructure projects create approximately 7 jobs per $1 million of expenditures.” If we can get the mobility fee into effect and start working on backed up bike/ped/mass transit projects, more people will get jobs.
• Despite the fact that Jacksonville is the epitome of sprawl, there is a growing amount of interest in getting around by walking, biking, or by bus- and the interest is not just because of gas prices.
  • As evidenced by the number of people who spoke at last week’s city council meeting, there is a great amount of local interest in moving about the city by ANY OTHER MEANS than in a car.  Studies show that fewer of todays young people in the US are obtaining drivers licenses, and more are interested in living in high density urban neighborhoods that are walkable and bike-able. Ridership of our Skyway is up. JTA bus ridership continues to grow as well.
• We have many empty shopping centers and dwellings that could be put to use, yet it’s argued by developers that it’s cheaper to build on undeveloped land away from the urban core. In a time when our city is turning off streetlights to save money, it might be a good time to investigate reusing some of our older, empty buildings that have existing city services attached– water, electric, street lights (people!),  as well as sidewalks and bus stops. The Mobility Fee is meant to encourage infill development, which is what Jacksonville’s wallet (not to mention, Florida’s precious, beautiful land) needs right now.

The US is experiencing a sea-change in values in and finally those changes are being seen in our backyard. A majority of Americans are tired of traffic and spending long commutes alone in cars. If you’re a Jacksonville resident and want to help defeat this new Mobility Fee Moratorium, here’s what you can do:

1. Write to your city council member and let them know you are opposed to the 3-year mobility fee moratorium.
2. Come to the next City Council meeting on February 26th at 5:00PM,  117 W. Duval St. Jacksonville, FL  32202. Feel free to fill out a comment card stating you’re opposed to the 3-year mobility fee moratorium or prepare a short, to the point 3-minute or less speech.

For More information on what the Mobility Fee is and is not, take a look at this post from Metro Jacksonville.

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