Safety As Florida Expects
Published 16th november 2008
Bicyclists spoke and were listened to at last month's Palm Beach Metropolitan Organization (PBMPO) Meeting.
At that meeting, the PBMPO was considering a proposal to install designated bicycle lanes on county roads where there are now paved shoulders. SAFE fully supported that proposal as SAFE President Charlie Bonfield laid out in a position paper to PBMBO Chair Jeff Koons.
In addition to SAFE's support, former MPO Bike/Greenway/ Ped Coordinator, Ralphael Clemente, and the current Coordinator, Bret Baronak, spoke in favor of the proposal.
However, it was the testimony of the Chair and Vice-Chair of the PBMPO Bicycle/Greenways/Pedestrian Advisory Committee (BGPAC) that provided the tipping point.
Joy Puerta, the Chair of the BGPAC, and a Transportation Analyst for the City of Boca Raton, has earned the respect of the PBMPO Chair Jeff Koons and the other PBMPO Commissioners. She has testified many times as a leading expert in South Florida on ped/bike issues; and, when she talks, people listen.
The bottom line is that the PBMPO and George Webb, the Palm Beach County Chief Road Engineer, agreed to begin converting paved shoulders to designated bicycle lanes. If you have any suggestions re which county roads should be converted to bike lanes first, please email your suggestion to bbaronak@co.palm-beach.fl.us.
As a way of providing more background re Boca Raton's commitment to bike/ped safety, that effort began a decade or more ago when the City of Boca Raton took advantage of a state grant program, and hired a full time Bike/Ped Coordinator.
I had the pleasure of meeting Ms. Puerta when she was Boca Raton's Bike/Ped Coordinator. About five years ago, while serving as Chair of the Delray Beach Ped/Bike Task Team, I invited her to visit Delray Beach on two occasions to meet with City Officials to discuss Boca's bike/ped initiatives and to demonstrate to the Delray Beach Task Team how to conduct "street and sidewalk audits". The next time I saw Joy, she was at a "Walk A Child To School Day" planning session and she inspired me to start a similar event in Delray Beach. These are just two examples of her commitment to improving safety for pedestrians and bicyclists
Now, Boca is nationally recognized as a "Bike Friendly City". The City has over 44 miles of bicycle lanes and 31 miles of shared use pathways and another 18 miles of bicycle lanes and 4 miles of shared use pathways are planned for in the future.
According to Puerta, "In 2000, the City opened a two and a half mile, 12 foot wide shared use pathway along the El Rio Canal between Glades Road and the Spanish River Blvd. Just recently, the City completed the latest and greatest link that connects the Boca Tri-Rail Station with the FAU campus. In addition it provides a connection for Boca residents to take advantage of recreational facilities. This phase begins at Spanish River Blvd. and the trail skirts north along the waters edge, passing a decorative picnic area with landscaping and continues under the I-95 overpass. As you emerge from under the I-95 overpass, the trail passes a decorative seating and fishing platform area where a trail user has the option to continue west across a bridge to the Tri-Rail Station or continue northeast adjacent to the CSX Railroad to Yamato Road."
So...if you're interested in ditching your car, you have a way to connect by bike from the FAU campus to almost anywhere in Palm Beach County!
Jim Smith is SAFE Chair
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