Reminder: Feb. 25th public workshop--Bonita Beach Road Visioning Project

Don't forget, the THURSDAY, Feb. 25th workshop is an opportunity you don't want to miss.

Live in Bonita Springs or use Bonita Beach Road to travel by car, bike, or foot? There is still time to participate in the vision for the Bonita Beach Road Corridor. 


In the Fall, the City of Bonita Springs contracted with Toole Design Group to create a vision for the Bonita Beach Rd. corridor and its major north/south intersections. Two public meetings and two open houses were held in January to learn what challenges and opportunities were, develop “starter ideas”, and get feedback on the starter ideas. The Toole Design team is back in town for their final working sessions. During this time, they will build on the previous work and feedback to develop their recommendations, which they will present at a public meeting scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 25th, at 6:00 p.m. at City Hall. Prior to that, the consultants are available for informal open house on Tues. Feb 23th, any time between 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. at City Hall Please pop in if you want to see the drawings in progress or have any questions or additional input.

The City of Bonita Springs will continue to take public comments, questions and concerns throughout the process.  Your input is important and the City encourages your participation.

The Toole Design project team is led by Ian Lockwood, a recognized national leader in sustainable transportation policy and urban design. The first series of public workshops were held Jan. 26th-28th. Click here to see Toole Design's excellent PowerPoint presentation about the BBR visioning project, which was presented at the Jan. 28th workshop,

PP presentation at Jan. 28th workshop

Background
The goal of the project is to develop "an imaginative and unique vision for Bonita Beach Road" (east of I-75 and west to Hickory Blvd.) and all its major north/south intersections. The proposed vision is to follow the city's Complete Streets policy and use a context-sensitive approach, "using the latest and best management practices that connect land use and transportation needs for all users, including connectivity to adjacent streets, while remaining flexible to the unique circumstances of different streets. This vision and subsequent design of the Bonita Beach Road corridor would act as the foundation for a comprehensive, connected and well-maintained multi-modal network....It is envisioned that these efforts would lead to a revitalization of commercial development, office development and residential development of varying intensities and densities." (Source: RFP scope of work)

Note that Bonita Beach Rd. is a Lee County road and FDOT controls the US41/Bonita Beach Rd. interchange, so both parties will be involved in this project and will be critical to implementation of the project's outcome.

BikeWalkLee is excited to see Bonita Springs moving forward with the Bonita Beach Rd. visioning study that the City Council set in motion a year ago. This project, along with several other initiatives, including the major downtown redevelopment project now underway, are bringing complete streets and livable communities to life in SWFL.

Report by Darla Letourneau 

Toole Design's PowerPoint presentation at the Jan. 28th workshop

Related BikeWalkLee Blogs:

• January 22, 2016: Invite to Jan. 25th and 28th Bonita Beach Road Visioning Public Workshops

• August 5, 2015: Bonita Springs City Council selects consultant team for Bonita Beach Rd. visioning study

BikeWalkLee urges Lee State Legislative Delegation to support Senate version of Passidomo's Vulnerable Users safety bill

For the second year in a row, the Passidomo Vulnerable Users safety bill is moving through the Florida Legislature.  In Feb. 18th's action by the House Criminal Justice Subcommittee, an amendment by Rep. Oliva (Miami) was adopted which drops important provisions of the bill, including removing all the increased fines and punishments and the "right hook" provision.  BikeWalkLee is concerned about these changes and sent a letter (see below) that urged the Lee Legislative delegation to support the Senate version of the bill (SB 332), which is essentially the original bill introduced by Rep. Passidomo.

 NOW is the time to contact your state legislators to urge them to enact SB 332 (the original version of the House bill).  Click here for the email addresses to the Lee Legislative Delegation.

Note:  At the bottom of this blog is Rep. Passidomo's Feb. 20th update report on HB 253., which is a good explanation of the bill.

Links to Legislative document:

• House bill as amended
• Analysis of original House bill (before amendment adopted)...essentially the Senate Bill to date. 
• Overall legislative status report on HB 253 
• Senate Legislative status report on SB 332

See FBA's Legislative Update

BikeWalkLee Letters to Lee Legislative Delegation:

From: Darla Letourneau [mailto:dletourneau@bikewalklee.org]
Sent: Thursday, February 18, 2016 12:40 PM
To: Matt Caldwell;  Rep. Eagle/Paige Biagi; Rep. Heather Fitzhagen; Kathleen Passidomo; Rep. Ray Rodrigues; Senator Garrett Richter; Senator Lizbeth Benacquisto
Subject: BikeWalkLee urges support of SB332, Vulnerable Users safety bill

Members of Lee Legislative Delegation:

As we have communicated with you several times this session, BikeWalkLee's top legislative priority is bike/ped safety, including passage of the Passidomo bill on vulnerable road users (HB 253/SB 332). We are concerned that the House bill, as amended in yesterday's Criminal Justice Subcommittee, eliminates some key provisions, including provisions related to increased fines and punishments. We urge you to support the original version of the bill that was introduced by Rep. Passidomo, as it moves through the legislative process.

Thank you for your support.

Darla
on behalf of BikeWalkLee

See BikeWalkLee's Jan. 5, 2016 blog post: BikeWalkLee urges Lee Legislative Delegation to support roadway safety legislation

See BikeWalkLee's Oct. 1, 2015 letter to the Lee County Legislative Delegation

Rep. Passidomo's Email Update on 2/20/16:

HB 253 which is designed to protect bicyclists and other vulnerable users of a roadway is now on its way to the floor after passing through the Economic Affairs Committee. Specifically, the bill requires a vehicle to pass at a safe distance of not less than three feet between any part of or attachment to the vehicle, anything extending from the vehicle, or any trailer or other thing being towed by the vehicle and a vulnerable user. The bill allows a driver to briefly and safely drive on the left side of a roadway in a no-passing zone when passing a vulnerable user in order to provide at least three feet between the vehicle and the vulnerable user. It also requires a person making a right turn that overtakes a vulnerable user traveling in the same direction to signal appropriately and to complete the turn only if it can be achieved by maintaining a safe distance (minimum of 20 feet) from the vulnerable user. This legislation prohibits a person operating a vehicle who overtakes and passes a vulnerable user of a public roadway proceeding in the same direction from making a right or left turn at an intersection or into a private road or driveway unless the turn can be made at a safe distance from the vulnerable user. The bills provides that groups of 10 or fewer bicyclists may interrupt traffic flow at a single time after obeying all traffic laws. Law enforcement officers would be required to note on specified traffic citations if the violation contributed to the bodily injury of a vulnerable user. Recipients of citations for infractions of specified sections which result in bodily injury to a vulnerable user would be required to appear before a judge for a hearing. Finally, the bill provides that a vulnerable road user is responsible for damage or injury in the same manner the bill does for motor vehicle drivers. This bill has one more stop in the Senate before heading to the Senate floor.

Report by Darla Letourneau

Invite to March 10th Public Workshop re: Bonita Springs Bike/Ped Master Plan

 Bonita Springs is moving forward quickly on the development of its citywide Bike/Ped Master Plan, following the Council's approval of the scope of work on Jan. 20th. The  City has scheduled a public workshop on Thursday, March 10th from 4-7 p.m. at the Bonita Rec Center.  The meeting will be held in an open house forum with maps, display boards and discussion with the McMahon Associates consultant team, so stop by any time between 4-7 p.m. to share your views.  For background on the master plan project, see BikeWalkLee's Jan. 27th blog post: "Bonita Springs City Council takes action in support of complete streets/livable communities".

Background

The City's overall objective for the master plan project, as articulated in the scope of work,  is "to provide for connectivity across their available network, link the system to pedestrian and bicycle trip generators, provide links to parks, schools, etc., and be safe for these proposed multi-modes of transportation.  The City has been planning for a number of years to be a destination, and also address its diverse community of year-around residents, as well as the seasonal population."

Click here for the Bike/Ped Master Plan scope of work

To see previous BWL-related blog posts on topic, click here.