Shout out to NYC for not only posting this but also to Time’s Up for organizing the solidarity ride this Sunday.

http://times-up.org/calendar/detail.php?calendarid=2675

We wish we could be there*

it’s always tragic to see another dead cyclist, but i think it should be pointed out that this is a spot for leisure riders mainly (not that that’s a bad thing, since Miami is great for exercising outdoors since it’s warm usually, why not support a lively biking culture?). THe bridges to/from miami beach didn’t seem that bad to me, but I’d def. like to see some better infrastructure there too.

Rest in peace Christophe.

Unfortunately, this is expensive to do. I am not sure we have the political will to implement such an extensive capital improvements project. Protected bicycle lanes are very controversial issue even amongst cyclists. We need to find a middle ground.

FYI: This is not a cul de sac. Key Biscayne is a well populated with some descent density. A lot of wealthy people live here and they may have their own special interests. Regardless, I don’t believe there is a need for three lanes.

With protected bicycle lanes, this could potentially become one of the best urban greenways in the country.
Thanks.

Felipe Azenha
Transit Miami

I confess to not having an opinion on the bike lane issue. On the times I cycled, I was too ecstatic over the beauty and wonder of the setting to pay much attention. In the same vein, I’m astonished to read that there’s a 45 mph posted speed limit on the Rick. Who knew? Not I, which maybe tells you something.

As for the village of key biscayne itself….they redid the ENTIRE main avenue (crandon blvd) a few years ago (google street view still shows construction). You’ll note that all the work didn’t really include bike lanes….they just added bike stencils in the existing shoulder/drainage area.

“However I just noticed that this is a cul-de-sac and serves only a limited number of destinations. THERE IS NO WAY THIS BRIDGE AND CORRESPONDING ROADWAY COULD WARRANT AS MUCH AS SIX LANES!!”

Key Biscayne does get heavy traffic. The Miami SeaAquarium is a popular destination (located on Virginia Key, the first island), and the two parks (state and federal) overflow in the summer. Key Biscayne is also home to a major tennis tournament. The island also has a population of 10,000 or so, which spikes in the summer.

Does it warrant six lanes? Well, Im not sure why it goes from 5 to 6 to 4….but there are traffic jams in the summer.

(I lived on Key Biscayne)

On such a long roadway with few cross streets or driveways, side paths or protected bike lanes can be a viable alternative. The Rick would seem to be a good candidate due to the small number of conflict points over a fairly long distance.

I see that there are narrow shoulders that are marked as bikelanes (however they are somewhat narrow to function as shoulders) and that there is also a walkway (also very narrow) but on just one side. Also I found that it is marked for 45mph but from the design (up to 6 lanes). I’m quite sure that this limit is regularly surpassed by 20mph and sometimes way more.

My opinion as a rider for more than 20 adult years and a new LCI (from my virtual tour of the Causeway) is that I personally would prefer to ride on a protected bike lane or in this case, the sidewalk on the portions that are actually on a bridge. That’s just my opinion but I prefer not to put my back to traffic traveling at freeway speeds with such a narrow shoulder / bike lane. I don’t know the traffic volume but the speed alone is enough to get me off the actual roadway.

However I just noticed that this is a cul-de-sac and serves only a limited number of destinations. THERE IS NO WAY THIS BRIDGE AND CORRESPONDING ROADWAY COULD WARRANT AS MUCH AS SIX LANES!!

My solution. Put this roadway on a MAJOR road diet. On the causeway bridge closest to the mainland the road can easily be reduced to 4 lanes. The extra room could be used to install more Jersey Barriers (or something) to produce a protected bicycle lane.

The center island roadway again could be reduced from 6 to 4 lanes but the protection for the bike lane should be removed in places to allow cross traffic and for cyclist to make turns.

The outer bridge may be a more difficult solution since it is “only” 4 lanes but here a movable center barrier could be implemented (if need be) to giver drivers 2 of the 3 lanes in the peak direction. However, many bridges in the northeast just use lights to tell drivers what lanes are open to which direction of traffic. With just three lanes there again should be plenty of room to put up barriers to protect the bike lane.

Also, something interesting could be done with that old inner causeway bridge to connect it for bikes and pedestrians.

Alright, I wasted too much time on this but I do hope it helps.

Andy B

DWI and being Unlicensed should be all it takes for such a charge. It’s practically premeditated at that point because of the level of recklessness and wanton disregard for others’ safety.

He was going to kill someone. It was just a matter of who and where.

To me, people in South Florida had absolutely no quality of life unless they drove a late model, no-money-down land yacht equipped with a radiator that wouldn’t explode in constant bumper to bumper traffic.

Although I think the region serves as a real-life lab for at least one livable-streets theory: I remember when I was there summer ’07, when gas prices spiked (easily breaking $5 a gallon in Miami Beach) — local news reported with amazement the plummeting rate, at the time, of traffic incidents and fatalities. Drivers were compelled by market forces to finally drive at reasonable speeds.

otherwise, indeed, this is a terrible tragedy, and i hope all the riders that came out for the memorial stick together to insist on the necessary changes.