Lee County's Complete Streets 2013 Implementation Report

Earlier this year, the Lee County Complete Streets team presented the 2013 Complete Streets Implementation Report to the Community Sustainability Advisory Committee (CSAC) and the report is now posted on the County's Sustainability webpage.  BWL thanks the leaders of the County's Complete Streets team, Tessa LeSage, Andy Getch, and Jessica Mendes, along with the County's entire internal complete streets team, and the CSAC and its complete streets working group, for its continued commitment to implementation of the county's award-winning complete streets program.

The Complete Streets Resolution (09-11-13) adopted by the Lee Board of County Commissioners on November 10, 2009, included a requirement for an annual report on the implementation status.

The County's implementation plan and its annual reports on implementation has been highlighted in annual National Complete Streets Coalition (NCSC) reports evaluating the best complete streets policies; and was also highlighted this year in the AARP and NCSC Complete Streets Toolkit for Southeast USA.

This year's report highlights the following 2013 milestones and accomplishments:

Tampa Summit: Secy LaHood with Lee Co. team

• Complete Streets map-based evaluation tool use
• Review of elements of the 2035 Horizon Plan, the County's update of the Lee Comprehensive Plan
• System-wide VMT approximately equal from 2010 to 2012 while LeeTran ridership increased to over 4 million per year
• Coordinated with Lee County MPO Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety Action Plan
• EPA Building Blocks for Sustainable Communities
• Sustainable Communities Leadership Academy
• USDOT Southeast Regional Transportation Bike Safety Summit
• STEM@Work presentations/audits
• MPO awarded $10.5 million TIGER V complete streets initiative project grant

 For the first time, the annual report lays out priorities for the upcoming year.  The report highlights the following priorities for 2014:

•  A focus on safety, working with the MPO on implementation of the MPO Bike/Ped Safety Action Plan.  This is include revisions to the LDC addressing arterial intersection design and participating in traffic safety teams to implement enhanced safety/design techniques on high crash corridors; and identification of potential corridors for "road diets".
• Development of performance measures that dovetail with the MPO Bike/Ped Plan and the Sustainability Plan.
• Support implementation of the MPO TIGER V grant.
• Alignment of the County's economic development goals with the implementation of and performance metrics associated with Lee County's Complete Streets initiatives
• Assist in development of civic "hackathon" to better leverage technology to understand transportation needs and to gather information about how this infrastructure supports business.
• The Bicycle Pedestrian Advisory Committee (BPAC) will evaluate on-road bike facilities and way-finding.
• County staff will conduct a complete streets evaluation of local streets on a neighborhood basis, in addition to resurfacing contracts.
• The National Resources Department will be added to the internal Complete Streets Team to assist in the review of the CIP.

This is the fourth annual report, with all reports available on the website:

Annual Reports
Annual Report 2013/2014
Annual Report 2012/2013
Annual Report 2011/2012
Annual Report 2010/2011


Report by Darla Letourneau

Cape Coral City new website on bicycling

 Kudos to the City of Cape Coral for adding a new webpage on Cape Coral Bicycling, highlighting the 90 miles of interconnected bicycling routes and the interactive maps available. 

The Cape Coral Bike-Ped group, led by Carolyn Conant, helped make this happen.  Carolyn gave special thanks to team members Dee Vaigl, with help from Amy Gravina on editing, Mike Swanson for the interactive map, the City on another interactive map, and Chris Eberhart from IT.  Way to go, Team Cape!

June 2nd: 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 and 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:

·       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.