BikeWalkLee: How do we stack up on bike safety?

BikeWalkLee Column ‘Go Coastal’
The News-Press, July 14, 2022
by Ken Gooderham

Image: peopleforbikes.org

Ranking areas against one another usually is an exercise in subjectivity, based on more the values given to the ranking process than to any actually illumination of the region’s performance.

That said, it’s still instructive to see how we stack up – more for the progress (or lack thereof), of course, and less for the scores.

The sixth annual People For Bikes City Rankings came out last month, and of course our region ran behind.

The survey uses data to determine how bike-friendly a city is, breaking them down into three categories (small, medium and large). It also scores the cities for Network (mostly access to various parts of the community) and Community (focusing on safety, connectivity, recreation and awareness).

The best biking spots (and their overall scores) were:

• Best small cities: Provincetown MA (81); Fayette MO (71); Crested Butte, CO (70).
• Best medium cities: Davis, CA (72); Berkeley, CA (70), Boulder, CO (66).
• Best large cities: Brooklyn, NY (63); San Francisco, CA (81); Seattle WA (59).

In Southwest Florida, those numbers were much lower… as would be expected:

• Fort Myers: Overall 19; 634 out of 1,105 total; 281 out of 455 medium cities.
• Cape Coral: Overall 14; 835 out of 1,105 total; 358 out of 455 medium cities.
• Estero: Overall 24, 504 out of 1,105 total; 217 out of 565 small cities.
• Naples: Overall 17, 698 out of 1,105 total, 318 out of 565 small cities.
• Venice: Overall 20; 600 out of 1,105 total; 267 out of 565 small cities.
• Sarasota: Overall 14; 847 out of 1,105 total; 366 out of 455 medium cities.
• Bradenton: Overall 6; 765 out of 1,105 total; 332 out of 455 medium cities.
• Tampa: Overall 20, 616 out of 1,105 total, 69 out of 85 large cities.
• St. Petersburg: Overall 17, 690 out of 1,105 total, 303 out of 455 medium cities.

Why? Look at the criteria People For Bikes identifies as ways to make areas better for biking:

• Keep traffic speeds low by design. That is pretty much anathema to our area, where the need for speed far outweighs any other roadway design consideration. Areas with low speeds usually achieve that by overcrowding rather than design, as almost every road during the winter season will demonstrate (and that’s not terribly conducive to safety for any road user).
• Build a bike network, not a bike project. That’s very much a work in progress locally. Where there are connecting bike systems, they are used enthusiastically… but too many areas are left unserved (or underserved) to make the case for an honest-to-God network being in place.
• Upgrade your existing bike lanes. Again, a work in progress. Existing networks are maintained, albeit slowly… but we have seen progress in specific areas or municipalities that is encouraging.
• Complete your bike network quickly. Not even close
• Change the way you talk about bikes. OK, but with a few exception we don’t talk about bikes much… so what’s to change?
• Equitable biking is a right. Not here it isn’t.

So, by the criteria by which these areas are ranked, there’s no way SW Florida will ever do well… at least for the foreseeable future. Particularly with some of these (traffic speeds and equitable biking), there simply is no way those needles are going to be moved in our lifetime.

Some of the ratings seem hard to fathom… such as ranking Cape Coral (which has a rudimentary bike path system in place) lower than Fort Myers (which doesn’t), or ranking St. Petersburg (which has a bikeable downtown) lower than Fort Myers (which doesn’t). Such is the dilemma that data-driven rankings can bring.

Does that mean the whole exercise is pointless? Hardly.

Our region can always improve – and, in some regards, it has in the past two decades or so. Will it rival the top towns in the country? Not likely. Will it be better and safer for local riders? Probably – and sometimes that’s enough.

Plus rankings such as these do allow for signs of progress, as well as success stories for other areas that manage to improve their biking lot by means of design and determination.

They can also serve as warning signs if things start slipping, perhaps a much-needed kick in the pants to locals when some objective third party comes along to tell them things are getting worse – not better. For example, the next Dangerous By Design study is due this month… and it will be interesting to see if our area (and our state) has made any progress in not maiming its pedestrians and cyclists quite so often.

Studies such as these are a way to inspire change, direct action and (sometimes) get folks riled up. For safer cycling, those are all good things.

If you want to find out more: https://cityratings.peopleforbikes.org/

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EVENTS

FORT MYERS TRACK CLUB (ftmyerstrackclub.com):

• Tunnel to Towers 5K, Saturday, Sept. 10, FSW campus, Fort Myers.
• Downtown Dash 1 Mile Run, Friday, Sept. 16, downtown Fort Myers.
• Fort Myers Cops & Joggers 5K, Saturday, Oct. 8, downtown Fort Myers.
• Cape Coral Fire Department Fueled by Fire 5K, Saturday, Oct. 15, Tarpon Point, Cape Coral.
• 10K F.I.S.H. race, Saturday, Oct. 22, Sanibel Island.
  

GC RUNNERS (gcrunner.org):

• Friends of Foster Children Forever Labor Day 5K, Monday, Sept. 6, Lowdermilk Park, Naples.
• Gulf to Gulf 80 Mile Relay, Saturday, Oct. 22, Naples to Sanibel and back.
• Olde Naples 10K, Sunday, Nov. 13, Rodgers Park, Naples
  

ELITE EVENTS (runeliteevents.com):

• Naples Distance Classic Half-Marathon, 10K and 5K, Saturday, Oct. 8, Eagle Lakes Park, Naples.
• Naples Rocktoberfest 5K and 10K, Saturday, Oct. 22, North Collier Regional Park, Naples.
  

CYCLING

• Wheel Lee Fun Youth Bicycle Program (July 5-9, 12-16 and 26-30) has been cancelled.

The Caloosa Riders are offering member rides, but some are open to non-members (and it wouldn’t hurt you to join the club); check their ride calendar (caloosariders.org) for a description of the distance and speed, and to see if the ride is open to all.

SW Florida Critical Mass is offering their usual slate of family-friendly rides. Check out their line-up online (www.meetup.com/Biking-SWFL/events/) for details and times (and to make sure the ride is still rolling).

• SW Florida Critical Mass ride, first Friday of the month. A family-friendly slow night ride through Fort Myers. Front and rear bike lights required. Helmet and lights required, meet in the parking lot at 2180 West First Street, Fort Myers. 
• Sanibel Critical Mass night ride, second Saturday of the month. Gathers at Jerry’s Shopping Center, 1700 Periwinkle Way, on Sanibel. Lights required, helmets recommended.
• NE Lee Critical Mass ride, third Friday of the month. Gather in the Winn Dixie parking lot on Palm Beach Blvd. about five miles east of the Interstate; gather at 7 p.m. and roll at 7:30 p.m. for a slow ride through Fort Myers Shores.
• Cape Coral Critical Mass ride, fourth Friday of the month. Gather at the Southwest Florida Military Museum parking lot at 4820 Leonard Street for a family-friendly night ride through the Cape; helmets and lights required.
• Saturday Morning Slow Roll, fourth Saturday of the month. Meet-up at 2160 McGregor Blvd., Fort Myers. Recommended for inexperienced/young riders. Distance is 6 miles, includes group ride instruction.
  

TRIATHLONS

• Fort Desoto Sprint or Olympic Tri, Sunday, July 17, St. Petersburg (fortdesototrilogy.com/ or runsignup.com)
• Siesta Sprint Triathlon, Saturday, July 30, triathlon, duathlon and swim/run, Siesta Key (Sarasota).
• Top Gun Sprint Triathlon, Saturday, Aug. 6, Pinellas Bayway, St. Petersburg (www.thunderboltmultisport.com/Events/Top-Gun-Triathlon or runsignup.com)
• Fort Desoto Sprint or Olympic Tri, Sunday, Aug. 21, St. Petersburg (fortdesototrilogy.com/ or runsignup.com)
• Fort Desoto Sprint or Olympic Tri, Sunday, Sept. 18, St. Petersburg (fortdesototrilogy.com/ or runsignup.com)
• City Island Tri, Sunday, Oct. 9, Sarasota (https://run941.com/ or runsignup.com)
  

 

TELL US ABOUT YOUR RIDE

Have a favorite route you like to bike, or a unique walk you’d like to share with others? Tell us about it at info@bikewalklee.org, and maybe we can feature it in an upcoming column.

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Ken Gooderham writes this on behalf of BikeWalkLee, a community coalition raising public awareness and advocating for complete streets in Lee County — streets that are designed, built, operated and maintained for safe and convenient travel for all users: pedestrians, bicyclists, motorists, and transit riders of all ages and abilities. Information, statistics and background online at bikewalklee.blogspot.com.