Today's column reports
on the progress that has been made over the past 4 years (2010-2014) in adding biking
and walking facilities throughout Lee County, based on BikeWalkLee's new report.
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| Example Before/After photo provided by BWL |
How is Lee County doing in
bike/ped facilities? Good — in total miles and in kinds of facilities.
BikeWalkLee took a look at how
bike/ped facilities added in up the county from 2010 to 2014, using data
collected by the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) from the Departments
of Transportation for Florida and Lee County along with local municipalities.
In this four-year period, we
added 130 miles of bike/ped facilities, an 18 percent increase, with almost 40
miles of new facilities in Cape Coral and almost 60 miles in unincorporated Lee
County.
The greatest increase in type of
facilities over this four-year stretch came in bike lanes — with the total
mileage almost doubling to make up 1/4 of all facilities by 2014. Even with a
drop in the miles of paved shoulders — the result of some road sections being
upgraded to some other type of (more protected) facility — on-road facilities
increased by 60 miles while off-road ones (in some cases more focused on
walkers) added 70 miles.
Overall, good news for bikers and
walkers countywide. Much of these gains came due to new-road construction
rather that retrofits to existing roads — where a huge backlog still exists. We
applaud the efforts of local officials (county and municipality) to achieve
these kinds of improvements, and urge them to keep up the good work to continue
to expand and connect the bike/ped network throughout the county and its
cities. Every day we’re reminded of the importance of walking and biking to
improving the overall health of the community, so more and safer bike/ped
facilities are crucial to encouraging people to go take a hike or a bike!
The BikeWalkLee report also
reviews other bike/ped improvements during this period, as well as looking
ahead at expected upgrades we all should see soon. The full report is online at BikeWalkLee.
Ready to ride or run?
Run: October race season is here, starting with the Lexington Cares
5K Run/Walk on Saturday to benefit the Regional Cancer Center’s Breast Health
Center. The following weekend, pick from the Busey Bank Run for Prevention in
the morning (at FGCU) or Cops and Joggers in the evening (downtown Fort
Myers).
Ride: Tomorrow is the first Friday of the month, which means the SW
Florida Critical Mass ride, starting at the field next to the downtown Publix
at 7:30 p.m. Bring your lights and helmet, and join the fun.
Both: Looking for a sprint tri? Head north to Siesta Key on
Saturday (www.siestakeytriathlon.org), or south to Marco Island on Sunday
(www.thefitnesschallengetriathlon.com).
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