HB 971 Bad for Bicyclists and Pedestrians Unbeknownst to Florida Bicycle Association, a mandatory bike lane use provision was included in the Highway Safety & Motor Vehicles bill.  The bill also allows local governments to permit mopeds, golf-carts and other motorized vehicles on sidewalks and trails. Call Governor Crist as soon as you can...
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A question from a reader: “Could you give us the story behind the new triangles painted on the pavement at some crosswalks? When I showed pictures to friends and co-workers, nobody knew what they meant.” Such a series of triangles is called a yield line.  They’re informally referred to as “shark’s teeth.”  They are...
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Several findings about the relationship between obesity, the automobile, and the bicycle ….. 1)  As Americans have been getting obese, so have automobiles. Interesting that as we as a nation are getting bigger, our automobiles are keeping right up with us … 
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High traffic volumes and speed on Semoran Boulevard at Full Sail University coupled with numerous pedestrian crossings mid-block make an accident-waiting-to-happen situation. Solution? A marked and signed mid-block pedestrian crossing.
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“It was determined, when doing the design of this construction project, that traffic volumes were just too high,” said spokeswoman Ashley Hungate. “There are too many lanes to cross safely to put the pedestrian signal in.” While this quote comes to us from Indiana, it could just as well be from Florida.  In Eric’s...
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Color me green, with envy, that is.  Today I visited St. Petersburg with Mighk Wilson and Keri Caffrey.  Keri and I were tagging along with Mighk whose purpose was to check out installations of the RRFB, Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacon, on pedestrian crosswalks.  The envy part came about when I saw just how pedestrian...
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Metroplan Orlando held a pedestrian safety workshop yesterday. The attendance and enthusiasm was very encouraging. The board room was filled to capacity with more attendees than expected. Many different disciplines and organizations were represented, all with the same goal of enhancing pedestrian safety in Metro Orlando. Presenters included Bill Segal, Metroplan Orlando Board Chairman,...
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I was pleased that somebody is doing something, but then I read that line and I wonder what they are doing. Law-enforcement officers throughout Orange County are conducting targeted traffic details today at locations that have a high rate of pedestrian and bicyclist accidents. The enforcement is intended to bring a heightened awareness to...
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The last two years have brought unprecedented change to the nation and to Central Florida. The financial crisis virtually dried up credit. This caused the housing bubble to burst putting Florida’s housing industry sales into free fall. Unemployment, foreclosures and out-migration rippled through the economy. And for the first time since the end of...
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Or designing for people or cars? One of the challenges of transportation planning is who do you plan for? Cars? Bikes? Pedestrians? Transit? In my experience, it seems all modes take a back seat to the automobile. Parking lots become nightmares for pedestrians. Check out Orange Blossom Trail just north of Holden and you’ll...
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