Meet at 4:45 PM at Garden Center To Ride To Transit Hearing

Strap on your helmets and get ready to ride: SWFBUD is leading a bike ride to today's big county transit tax hearing.

We will gather at 4:45 PM at the Seminole Heights garden Center, 5800 Central Ave., and leave promptly at 5 PM to bike to the county's All Peoples community center at 6105 E. Sligh Avenue. The hearing begins at 6 PM.

Our message: Bicycles=Transportation.

SWFBUD Leads Ride To Thursday's Transit Hearing

I know it's probably more fun to be cycling at Flatwoods, or San Ann, or Alafia at 6 PM Thursday May 13, but it's also important that your voice as a bicyclist be heard at public hearings where local governments discuss transportation.

Such is the case Thursday when the Hillsborough County Commision holds a 6 PM hearing for residents to offer their two cents about the transit penny sales tax proposal to fund light rail, buses and road improvements.

The county commissioners need to be told that bicycling needs to be part of any transportation plan -- whether it be for more bike lanes or bike storage facilities at light rail stations or to be told bikes are efficient and fun ways of getting around.

The hearing is 6 PM at the All Peoples Life Center, at 6105 East Sligh Avenue (1 block East of 56th Street behind King High School).



SWFBUD will be leading a ride to the hearing. Please gather at 4:45 PM in front of the Seminole Heights Garden Center, 5800 Central Avenue. We will leave at 5 PM and bike about 5 miles east on Hanna Ave. to the hearing (just like at last summer's county budget hearing). Bring a helmet, lock and lights.

Or please attend the hearing via any other mode.

Please wear a bike shirt or jersey to the hearing to show the commissioners and public that you are a bicyclist.

Call Gov. Crist at 850- 488-7146 and Tell Him To Veto HB 971

SWFBUD says, call the governor and urge Gov. Crist to veto HB 971!

Join Florida cyclists and urge Governor Crist to veto HB 971, which requires cyclists to use bike lanes and allowing golf carts on shared use paths.

HB 971 amends Florida code Section 316.1995 to mandate that cyclists use dedicated bike lanes when present. We support the development and use of bike lanes but oppose mandatory-use laws. Cyclists must be able to determine where it is safest for them to ride in the street. There are exceptions in the current law that allow cyclists to leave the lane - but in practice law enforcement and the driving public is frequently unaware of these exceptions and may incorrectly "advise" cyclists to ride where it isn't safe or appropriate.

Further, the bill amends section 316.008 to allow local jurisdictions to permit golf carts and other motorized vehicles to use sidewalks and shared use paths that now are for the exclusive use of non-motorized transportation. This provision does not require these vehicles to yield to pedestrians or others traveling by non-motorized means, and has the potential to add congestion and conflict on Florida's well-used trail network.

SWFBUD Responds to Tampa Mayor's Decision to Kill Bike Lanes on Euclid Avenue

Dear Mayor Pam Iorio,

At today's Livable Roadways Committee meeting, I saw your letter to Councilwoman Linda Saul-Sena regarding your decision to kill the staff-proposed bicycle lanes on Euclid Avenue and I must say your decision is very disappointing and out of touch with national bicycle and pedestrian policy declared last month by U.S. Secretary of Transportaion Ray LaHood. As you know, the city of Tampa has been deemed one of the most dangerous cities for bicyclists and pedestrians in the country in national reports and national media stories so I would think that you would want to invest in infrastructure to reverse that trend.

I don't understand how killing bike lanes on a road that serves as an bicyclist alternative to biking on Gandy is part of your plan to make Tampa more bicycle-friendly. Only a few weeks ago I praised the city plan for bike lanes on Euclid Avenue in a bicycle column I wrote for the Tampa Tribune not thinking that you would actually kill the idea.
(http://www2.tbo.com/content/2010/apr/17/co-bay-area-bicycle-movement-on-a-roll/news-opinion-commentary/)

Mayors of cities of all sizes across the country have embraced bicycle lanes as part of a practical strategy to allow bicyclists to safely pedal from place to place and as a way to relieve vehicular traffic on congested roadways. But your decision to value parking of residents on a transportation public right-of-way over the safety of bicyclists shows that you have a blind spot in your policy-making. Once news gets around the country that the mayor of Tampa believes the parking convenience of people visiting homes for book club meetings (an actual example cited by a Euclid resident, according your city's transportation dept.) is more important than the safety of bicyclists, the city will receive yet another black eye for being a dangerous and unfriendly place for bicyclists

The city's alternative of "sharrows" on Euclid are appropriate for bicycle-savvy cities such as Seattle where local drivers and bicycles are educated about sharing the road together. But we're not there here in Tampa, where motorists believe they own the road and harass bicyclists who have a legal right to bike in the traffic lane. Will the city be engaging in an education program for vehicular drivers to inform them that they must be courteous to bicyclists on roads with sharrows?

For a person who supports light rail, your bicycle policy is very disappointing and baffling. Both light rail and bicycling are forms of transportation that get people out of cars and get people around the city. The city of Tampa does not even have a bicycle plan -- which is why so few roads in Tampa have bicycle lanes. I understand that your transportation manager, Jean Dorzback, planned to make Euclid Avenue as a prime example of "complete streets" policy, which is sweeping the country. You'll have to explain to me how cutting bike lanes from a street makes it "complete."

I had higher expectations for your support of bicycling in Tampa. Your decision is very disappointing and is opposed by bicyclists and others in Tampa.

Sincerely,

Alan Snel
Director of SWFBUD -- South West Florida Bicycle United Dealers
9 bicycle retailers growing bicycling in Tampa Bay


Iorio responds:

Alan, we have a difference of opinion on this. As mayor I have to take all factors into consideration and I believe this is a good compromise.
Pam

SWFBUD Holds 2 Bike Rides to Support Bicycling

FRIDAY, APRIL 30, 5 PM, Leaves from Seminole Heights Garden Center, 5800 Central Ave.
Easy two-mile bike ride to Ella's restaurant on Nebraska Avenue for County Commission candidate Linda Saul-Sena, who will be issuing bicycle seat campaign tags at Ella's. Saul-Sena is a big supporter of bicycling.

THURSDAY, MAY 13, 4:45 PM Also leaves from Garden Center.
Six-mile bike ride to All People's Life Center, 6105 East Sligh Ave., for 6 PM transit tax hearing to tell the county commissioners that bicycling is an essential part of any transportation and transit plan.

http://maps.google.com/maps?rlz=1T4GGIH_enUS276US290&um=1&ie=UTF-8&cid=0,0,11142078411148179151&fb=1&hq=all+people's+life+center&hnear=tampa&gl=us&daddr=6105+East+Sligh+Avenue,+Tampa,+FL+33617-9102&geocode=16518673385821040416,28.008854,-82.386525&ei=alrXS_z6DJTQ8wSzlbCrBw&sa=X&oi=local_result&ct=directions-to&resnum=1&ved=0CAkQngIwAA

SWFBUD at Earth Day Event at Lowry Park, Tampa

Stop by the SWFBUD/SHBC table Sunday when I will be manning the tent at the Earth Day event. The Tampa chapter of the Sierra Club is putting on the Earth Day event from 11 AM o 4 PM at Lowry Park on North Blvd, near the Sligh Avenue intersection at the zoo.

SWFBUD Learns Tampa To Drop Bike Lanes On Euclid Ave.

SWFBUD has learned the city of Tampa is breaking its commitment to stripe bike lanes on Euclid Avenue as part of re-paving the road. Seems some residents are upset that they are losing parking on the road and won't have space for friends who come over for book club meetings (that's an actual example).

Well, the city of Tampa, always looking to accommodate the convenience of book club meeting participants over the safety of bicyclists, has reneged on its initial plan to stripe bike lanes.

Councilwoman Linda Saul-Sena found out about this and wrote a letter to Mayor Pam Iorio, Council Chairman Tom Scott and council members and Transportation Planning Director Jean Dorzback:

"Yesterday I became aware that the City Administration removed a proposed bicycle lane planned for Euclid Avenue. This is contrary to what was conveyed to City Council by the Administration at a recent public meeting.

"Also, yesterday my deputy campaign manager was hit by a car while riding her bicycle home from the office. Fortunately, she suffered only minor injuries, but her bicycle was destroyed.

"Our community must improve our behavior to make bicycle-riding a safe mode of transportation. We must educate motorists to respect the rights of bicyclists to share the road and we must create a network of bicycle lanes to allow bicyclists safe routes community-wide.

"I will request our Transportation Department to appear and report on May 20 under Staff Reports on how we will address these safety needs and why the commitment to bicycle safety on Euclid Avenue is being broken."