Tampa BayCycle's Bike Month Events

Sunday, March 1 (Kick-off event)
8 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Clearwater Sunday Ciclovia
Enjoy a day of family fun and healthy activities on a car-free, carefree Cleveland Street. Two miles of downtown Clearwater streets will be off-limits to car traffic on March 1, 2009, from 8 a.m. – 2 p.m. so cyclists, strollers, skaters, joggers and dogs walkers can take over for a day of street play. For more information, visit myclearwater.com/carfreesunday

Bicycle Trains
Wednesdays, March 2 and 9, Hunter’s Green Elementary School
Fridays, March 6 and 27, Lewis Elementary School
Fridays, March 13 and 20, Chiles Elementary School
Students and their parents will ride to school via a bicycle train, a group of students riding their bikes with two or more adults.

Flat Tire Changing classes
Saturdays, March 7, 14, 21 and 28
The Bike Room, 2808 Fourth St. North, St. Petersburg
Learn to change a flat tire so you can bicycle more often. Please bring your bicycle. Each class is limited to four participants; call (727) 893-7421 to register.

1st Annual Tampa Twilight Criterium and Festival
Saturday, March 21
Downtown Tampa
This family-friendly event will feature both amateur and professional circuit cycling races along with an outdoor wellness festival. Bring and decorate your own bike for the cycling parade and/or touring rides. Take advantage of free activities including a bike safety check, helmet giveaway, bicycle rodeo, street skills courses, bike gear vendors and more. Visit www.tampacrit.com for complete schedule and race registration.

For more events, visit tampabaycycle.com

Gandy Bridge going nowhere

The Friendship Bridge will likely never return to cyclists' use, but what about the replacement, the Gandy? Some folks are willing to make the trek along the shoulder, but is a separated bike lane a possibility? Don't count on it. Alan Snel contacted the local DOT representative on behalf of SWFBUD regarding the issue and this is the response he got:

The department has evaluated the feasibility of providing for a physical barrier between the traffic lanes and the shoulder of the Gandy Bridge.

Our findings indicate the required six foot, one-way or twelve foot, two-way, clear width required for multi-use paths across the Gandy Bridge cannot be provided for two significant reasons.

First, the bridge structures were not designed to accommodate the additional loading from the weight of the barrier walls required.

Second, the addition of a separated multi-use path would eliminate the required pavement shoulders across the bridge. These pavement shoulders provide for a critical safety feature for vehicles to use for emergency purposes.

In accordance with Section 335.065, Florida Statutes, the department has also evaluated designating the bridge shoulder as a bicycle and pedestrian way by means of pavement markings without a physical barrier.

At present, the department cannot designate the bridge shoulders for bicycles and pedestrians due to a 5 year crash history from 2002-2007 indicating a significant number of crashes involving the barrier walls and also due to the lack of required pedestrian and bicycle railings on top of the barrier walls.

Please note that S.R. 600 (Gandy Boulevard) is not a limited access facility and the department’s policy is not to restrict bicyclists or pedestrians from using the shoulder across the Gandy Bridge.

In consideration of the above, the department will add street signs along the roadway approaches in advance of the bridge ends to indicate that motorists must share the shoulder.

Please expect these signs to be installed within four weeks from this date.

The department appreciates the time you have taken on behalf of thousands of bicyclists in the Tampa Bay area to express interest of a multi-use path across the Gandy Bridge.

Thank you for your interest and concern for the bicyclists in the Tampa Bay area. If there is any additional information we can provide you regarding the Gandy Bridge, please contact Mr. Ronald Chin, P.E., District Design Engineer at Ronald.Chin@dot.state.fl.us or at 813/975-6030.

Sincerely,

Donald J. Skelton, P.E.
District Seven Secretary

Here's my prediction: Eventually someone will be struck and killed riding along the side of the Gandy Bridge. The authorities will determine bicycle traffic is not safe, and close it to bikes and pedestrians. There will be no public funds to find a replacement any time soon and Tampa Bay cyclists will be forced to stay on their own sides of the bay.

Could we all be riding on the Lee Roy Selmon soon?

It certainly wouldn't hurt. Since the highway is currently closed on Sundays, why not open it to bicycles? The Tampa-Hillsborough County Expressway Authority expects to discuss whether to allow it on the 10-mile road between Brandon and downtown Tampa at its Feb. 23 board meeting.

Get the whole story in today's St. Petersburg Times.

Specialized Demo Day at Flatwoods

Mark Feb. 15, a Sunday, on your calendar for a Specialized Demo Day ay Flatwoods County Park. Bring an ID, you must wear a helmet and you need to sign a waiver. The time for the demo is 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. There is no cost. A Specialized factory tech will be on hand. If you've never been to a demo day, from any company, it is a LOT of fun.

Eckerd College's "bicycle graveyard" coming back to life

Anyone who has been through Eckerd College's campus has seen them. The yellow bikes that were first introduced in 2004 have lived a hard life. Many made their way off campus, with one even being spotted in Gainesville.

But now, thanks to a healthy $30,000 budget, the program is getting new life. It includes new bikes, maintenance and to pay a campus intern involved in the program, school officials said.

Read the story here.

[Photo by Dirk Shadd/Times]

Bike lane FAIL #2

Tampa BayCycle hosts annual Words for Wheels contest

Area residents are invited to enter ‘Words for Wheels,’ an essay-based bike giveaway contest sponsored by Tampa BayCycle. To enter, participants should submit a 100-word essay detailing how winning a bike would change their lives. Two winning entries will be selected; the winning authors will each receive a bicycle, light, helmet and lock.

You can submit your essay online or by mailing their entries to Words for Wheels, 601 N. Ashley Dr., Suite 1100, Tampa, FL  33602.

Entries must be received by Friday, February 20. The bikes will be awarded Sunday, March 1, the beginning of Florida Bike Month.

A letter to the City of Tampa

Local cycling advocate and blogger Jack Sweeney, also known to many as Ghost Rider, penned this letter to Tampa's Public Works Director Irvin Lee about the repaving of Busch Boulevard, which unfortunately did not include a bike lane.

Dear Mr. Lee,

I was riding around Tampa today when I came across the extensive repaving/restriping project along Busch Blvd., from I-275 east to the Busch Gardens area.

I was dismayed to see that once again, the City of Tampa failed to add any sort of bicycle-friendly infrastructure such as painted bike lanes, to this project. I understand the    desire for a smooth road to thrill first-time visitors to the Tampa area as they head toward exciting tourist destinations, but I'm convinced that Tampa could (and SHOULD) do more to make this a more liveable city for the actual residents...

What better time to add a bike lane stripe than during a repaving/restriping project? Also, think of the message a freshly-paved boulevard with painted bike lanes and appropriate "share the road" or "bike route" signage would send to those many tourists: "Tampa is a progressive community that is thinking about alternative transportation forms."

I encourage you and your staff to seriously consider and make efforts to implement the addition of bike lanes and signage during future repaving projects in and around the City of Tampa -- there is a small but growing group of residents who choose to use bicycles as transportation rather than contributing to the motorized traffic our city is plagued with, and we would sure love to see some improvements in the infrastructure available to us.

Sincerely,

Jack Sweeney
"Ghost Rider"
Tampa, Florida
Writer/editor -- www.bikecommuters.com
Seminole Heights Bicycle Club member

While it's a shame it is too late to have a lane installed on Busch, we can only hope that the city's future improvements are more bike-friendly. Then again, judging from the city's response, I wouldn't hold your breath for things to change quickly.