Bike Jax

Thank you for the email text, David! I think many ...

2013-03-12T08:40:51.768-04:00

Thank you for the email text, David! I think many people ended up emailing in, and I get the impression that City Council is listening.

I hate signage that has two meanings as well. I’ve...

2013-03-07T21:29:06.908-05:00

I hate signage that has two meanings as well. I’ve seen some signage that is perplexing because it has one more meaning.

I just saw this and wanted to say that we live nor...

2013-03-06T15:18:49.249-05:00

I just saw this and wanted to say that we live north of Atlantic off Kernan and we use this trail a LOT. The students at Landmark Middle School FLOOD onto the trail to bike & walk to & from school every day as well. We can access all of the shopping on the Kernan corridor from the trail, and since Ashley Melisse Rd has paved sidewalks along its entire length, kids can bike safely for quite a distance up here.

In case anyone needs ideas of what to say, here...

2013-02-20T20:30:21.319-05:00

In case anyone needs ideas of what to say, here's the text of the email I sent to my councilmen:

It has come to my attention that a bill has been introduced to put a 3 year moratorium on the mobility fee charged to developers based on location of development projects. As I understand it, this fee serves 2 purposes: It funds mass transit, walking and bicycling improvements in our community and it discourages continued sprawl.

While I understand that many developers would be opposed to such fees, as a 38 year resident of Arlington, I feel that it is in our community's best interest to encourage government and private reinvestment in existing infrastructure and neighborhoods. This would provide both better quality of life and more jobs for your current constituency.

Please do not overlook the needs of our community.

Thank you,
David Fletcher

THANKS FOR THIS POST!!!!!!!!!!

2013-01-29T04:21:43.121-05:00

THANKS FOR THIS POST!!!!!!!!!!

I had a hard time trying to answer the questions i...

2013-01-16T19:20:27.658-05:00

I had a hard time trying to answer the questions in the survey. I wish they had given use all the possible options then it would be easy. I could have said yeah we need all that. Also I have noticed a trend with our transportation planners they keep lumping cyclist in with pedestrians. Don't they know that bicycles are vehicles? Vehicles and pedestrians should never be mixed together. IMHO cyclist should have their own infrastructure or the current automotive infrastructure modified such that bicycles are considered.

Abhishek is a great guy. Jacksonville will miss yo...

2012-12-31T11:07:03.212-05:00

Abhishek is a great guy. Jacksonville will miss you.

1. I'm sad you're leaving, but maybe this ...

2012-12-30T09:57:27.801-05:00

1. I'm sad you're leaving, but maybe this just means I have an excuse to visit Ikea more often? I'm kidding! As Matt says, Jacksonville's loss is Lakeland's gain.

2. I've never seen you without the beard. Weird!

We (my partner and I with our 8 year old son) just...

2012-12-29T14:16:32.698-05:00

We (my partner and I with our 8 year old son) just rode the entire trail from Boulevard down to Myrtle Street, turned around and rode all the way up to Norwood Plaza, and then turned around and rode back to Main Street. It was very clean. Very well maintained. The only problem is there is no directional sign at Market and 14th street, so we got a little lost. The only complaint I'd have with the trail is the numerous stops, but that is a necessary evil in an urban area. I am very pleased with the trail.

Wow Abishek best of luck to you live snd grow in h...

2012-12-27T18:58:11.990-05:00

Wow Abishek best of luck to you live snd grow in health and happiness -Angela -personalized bike plates

Jack, I did feel the regret when I realized that ...

2012-12-27T16:33:37.852-05:00

Jack,
I did feel the regret when I realized that I would be moving to Lakeland and you were not in Tampa any more.
Bike Lakeland is doing some cool stuff in their maiden year of advocacy. I am excited to work with them. Moreover, I am excited to start my new job. It should be a fun new chapter of my life.

Matt,
Thank you for being one of my best friends in Jacksonville. I wouldn't have survived my car-free days without your help. Every time I visit Jax, I want to see more bike-corrals.

"If you never experience the pain of saying &...

2012-12-27T16:13:20.861-05:00

"If you never experience the pain of saying "Goodbye", you will never experience the joy of saying "Hello" again" -- Andy Johnson

Aw, man -- a great loss indeed. I watched the blo...

2012-12-27T15:22:09.107-05:00

Aw, man -- a great loss indeed. I watched the blossoming "bromance" via the very pages of this blog, and I know how much Shek means to you and to the cycling community in J'ville.

Good luck on your future endeavors, Abhishek! I wish I was still in Tampa so's I could welcome you to west-central Florida in person.

Dontavious Delk said ..... Wow from reading s...

2012-11-15T16:54:46.958-05:00

Dontavious Delk said .....

Wow from reading some of these comments im truely saddened by how some people judge the black area . My uncle momma , and me just walked these whole trail from beginning to end. At 8am is morning from Norwood plaza all the way to beaver street . Yes it was people staring but people also spoke its all about giving respect and you will receive respect . In all the is crime everywhere more in the white areas of town you just dont hear about it im American and black but i just suggest you try it for yourself and be safe . And remember at night by safe walk in groups or have some type of protection and its anyplace in jacksonville

Thank you Koula that is much appreciated :) Honest...

2012-11-09T13:32:56.172-05:00

Thank you Koula that is much appreciated :) Honestly I wish I could get legistlation passed that said for every 2 lanes of right of way an additional lane must be added to accomodate bicycles and foot traffic.

As long as there are bike lanes in the mobility pl...

2012-11-07T11:39:12.935-05:00

As long as there are bike lanes in the mobility plan that are not included in the design for the I-95 Overland Bridge, it's not really up to FDOT to decide whether or not to include bike lanes in this project. As I read the pertinent Florida statute, FDOT would have to provide some evidence that they have investigated bike lanes and that the additional costs are not justified. The pertinent statute is FS 335.065

Thanks JohnnyK! Here's a sample letter: Greet...

2012-11-07T10:59:42.444-05:00

Thanks JohnnyK! Here's a sample letter:

Greetings Mr. Teal,

The current plans for the Overland Bridge Project do not appear to involve the installation of any sort of bicycle access on the roads underneath the Bridge. This is a heavily bicycled area and bike facilities are a must in order to ensure safe passage through this area, which is a major connecting point between different parts of Jacksonville.

The cycling community of Jacksonville is a huge one and is made up of all types of people, many of whom rely on bicycles exclusively for their transportation to work, errands, etc. I urge you to please incorporate bike infrastructure in each new road or maintenance project to maintain connectivity and raise the bar in safety.

Thank you,
_________

Re: the politics behind inclusion/omission of bike facilities: Designers are supposed to consider bicycles in infrastructure decisions, as you stated...but from what I understand from a pro-bike road designer, incorporating bicycles sometimes means pushing limits of what designers are allowed to do. Some designers are willing to push the envelope, but most (especially in FL) are not. So, they "consider" bicycles, but then deem that the road is not wide enough according to their guideline book (or whatever the problem is), and the designer often just stops there, and doesn't look for workarounds.

I sent my email to Mr. Teal, however I think it wo...

2012-11-07T08:18:17.802-05:00

I sent my email to Mr. Teal, however I think it would be good to post a sample of what to email Mr. Teal. For those of us that are not as close to the project as you are. I do ride these roads however I don't fully understand the politics behind this project so it makes it kind of seem like we are begging Mr. Teal to include bicycle facilities in his grand plan. When I thought that the State of Florida is supposed to consider bicycles in all infrastructure decisions due to the whole complete streets thing?

These traveling blog posts of yours, I believe, co...

2012-10-19T09:56:01.866-04:00

These traveling blog posts of yours, I believe, could be so incredibly useful when presenting arguments to the Jacksonville City Council. An excellent and thorough show-and-tell like way to say, "Hey, if they can do it, so can we." This is fantastic! - Jenny K.

Nice feature, thanks for sharing, Koula!

2012-10-19T09:46:36.208-04:00

Nice feature, thanks for sharing, Koula!

I think I am missing something here? The charts a...

2012-10-13T13:02:24.871-04:00

I think I am missing something here? The charts and graphs on the page "American Bicycle Commuters" does not show any data about the number of deaths. This site only talks about the number of cyclist that use bikes to travel by state. Where is the data that shows the number of deaths per state?

Sounds like you had a nice biking trip around Chic...

2012-09-27T05:47:03.176-04:00

Sounds like you had a nice biking trip around Chicago. Great photos. Biking with friends is also what I love to do.

CompcareServices.com

Love the writing! Love the references to other art...

2012-09-19T12:59:51.627-04:00

Love the writing! Love the references to other articles where Chicago is taking bicycling seriously! Love how inspired I am now after having read this!

David, I'm surprised but hopeful re: the city&...

2012-09-07T10:27:10.182-04:00

David, I'm surprised but hopeful re: the city's response to your complaint. I put in a work order to sweep Spring Park Road's bike lanes in March, and COJ said their estimated date of completion would be May. I followed up with the city, and still have no swept bike lanes as of last week (and no longer work at that office, so I stopped following up). Maybe since the city responded that way in the past, they will again someday?

Also, I've never been asked the DUI question, but often get told I'm brave and/or crazy for riding my bike to work. I'm not sure guys get that same remark, though. Jenny, you're right- I think once more people start riding in our city, bicycling will be thought of as "normal" and not some fringe thing or the only way someone with a DUI can get around...

A good experience with the city: Once I went to co...

2012-09-07T09:39:37.848-04:00

A good experience with the city: Once I went to coj.net to complain about the road debris in the bike lanes on Beach blvd near St. Johns Bluff. I wrote that the debris forced me into the traffic lane and made cycling in this area more dangerous than it should be.

A couple of days later the streetsweepers took care of it, and a few days after that I got a letter from the city asking me how I liked their response to my request. I wrote a big "thank you" and mailed it back. That's how city government is supposed to work.

That was several years ago.