BikeWalkLee Blog

Monday, May 26, 2014

May 26th: Upcoming running/walking/biking events

It's Monday morning so here's what's ahead:

Upcoming events

Running/walking:

· Saturday, June7: Fort Myers Track Club Membership Run, Hammond Stadium, 14100 Six Mile Cypress Parkway, Fort Myers. Age 19+, $20; under age 19; $12; families, $40. Registration 6:30 a.m., run 7:30 a.m. (http://www.ftmyerstrackclub.com/)

Cycling & other events:

· Sunday, July 6: Wheels and Wings V Bicycle Ride. 62/32/15 mile rides and a 10-mile gentlemen's mass start race within the 62-mile route. Speed Trap Alley -- break the speed limit and receive a written warning from Punta Gorda Police, suitable for framing. Mystery Ride for the 15 milers. Beef O'Bradys 1105 Taylor Road, Punta Gorda. $30 includes ride, SAG stops, T-shirt, 10 Wings and two drinks (http://peaceriverridersbicycleclub.com/)

Triathlons:

· Sunday, June 1: 28^th annual Fitness Challenge Reverse Triathlon. Run/bike/swim, sprint distance. The Naples Beach Hotel & Golf Club, 851 Gulf Shore Blvd., Naples. $95 individuals, $180 teams. (http://www.thefitnesschallengetriathlon.com)

· Saturday, July 19: Englewood YMCA Sprint Triathlon, Englewood Beach, 2100 N. Beach Rd., Englewood. 7 a.m. start. $70 individuals, $140 teams to June 9. (http://www.southcountyfamilyymca.org)

· Sept.13-14: Registration is now open for the fourth annual Galloway Captiva Tri weekend. Saturday is the kids’ day with three age groups (6-8, 9-10 and 11-13) enjoying the fun of multisports. Sunday, the adults take to the water and roadways in a sprint triathlon (swim/bike/run) covering all of Captiva Island. Spaces are limited for all events, so register now – no waiting lists this year. Information at www.captivatri.org.

· Sunday, Oct. 5: Marco Island Triathlon 2014, Marco Island Marriott Beach Resort,400 South Collier, Marco Island. 8a.m. start $85 individuals, $160 teams (http://www.thefitnesschallengetriathlon.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.

Sunday, May 25, 2014

LeeTran ridership numbers are down an average of 2.8% so far this year

Since the budget cuts in November which reduced evening and weekend LeeTran services, BikeWalkLee has been tracking the monthly ridership numbers and has continued to express our concerns about the impact of these cuts.

At the May 16th MPO Board meeting, the LeeTran Director noted that ridership reductions appeared to be stabilizing, with April's ridership numbers (compared to the April 2013 numbers) down only slightly (-0.09%). Over the past 6 months, since the cuts went into effect, ridership has fallen on average, 2.8% a month. The following are the monthly numbers (compared to the same month the previous year:

October 2013: +2.49% (before cuts)

Nov. 2013: -3.55%

Dec. 2013: +1.95%

Jan. 2014: -8.36%

Feb. 2014: -2.19%

March 2014: -4.55%

April 2014: -0.09%

6-mo. average: -2.8%

The consistent ridership reductions are evidence of the negative impact these cuts are having on the transit system overall and on individual lives of our citizens who rely on transit to get to work and lead independent and productive lives. Since the cutbacks went into effect in mid-November, ridership numbers have fallen for the first time in years, after several years of record-breaking increases in ridership.

See BikeWalkLee's April 18th blog post, BikeWalkLee's April 10th blog post, and BikeWalkLee's April 8th letter to BoCC members, requesting the Board to restore the LeeTran service cuts in the County's "continuation budget" for FY 2014-15.

Saturday, May 24, 2014

Invite to May 30th stakeholder's workshop re: transportation improvements on San Carlos Blvd./Fort Myers Beach

Here's your chance to provide input into bike/ped/transit improvements needed on the road leading up to Fort Myers Beach--San Carlos Blvd.--long a sore point for cyclist, as well as pedestrians and transit users. (See the links below for BikeWalkLee's comments and suggestions from our 2012 review of Fort Myers Beach.)

Here's a link to the MPO announcement.