Advocacy & Safety - Florida: Conserve by bycicle statute

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How awesome !! 2 bad I don't know of anywhere in my area where this is being put into practice ?? I wonder who my State Pedestrian/Bicycle Coordinator is anyway ? :eek:

and it says:


The 2006 Florida Statutes

Title XXVI
PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION

Chapter 335
STATE HIGHWAY SYSTEM

335.067 Conserve by Bicycle Program.--There is created within the Department of Transportation the Conserve by Bicycle Program.

(1) The purposes of the Conserve by Bicycle Program are to:

(a) Save energy by increasing the number of miles ridden on bicycles, thereby reducing the usage of petroleum-based fuels.

(b) Increase efficiency of cycling as a transportation mode by improving interconnectivity.

(c) Reduce traffic congestion on existing roads.

(d) Provide recreational opportunities for Florida residents and visitors.

(e) Provide healthy alternatives to help reduce the trend toward obesity and reduce long-term health costs.

(f) Provide safe ways for children to travel from their homes to their schools by supporting the Safe Paths to Schools Program.

(2) In order to help accomplish these goals, the department shall conduct a Conserve by Bicycle study, which shall include a determination of the following:

(a) Where energy savings can be realized when more and safer bicycle facilities, such as bicycle paths, bicycle lanes, and other safe locations for bicycle use, are created that reduce the use of motor vehicles in the area.

(b) Where the use of education and marketing programs can convert motor vehicle trips into bicycle trips.

(c) How and under what circumstances the construction of bicycling facilities can provide more opportunities for recreation and how exercise can lead to a reduction of health risks associated with a sedentary lifestyle.

(d) How the Safe Paths to Schools Program and other similar programs can reduce school-related commuter traffic, which will result in energy and roadway savings as well as improve the health of children throughout the state.

(e) How partnerships can be created among interested parties in the fields of transportation, law enforcement, education, public health, environmental restoration and conservation, and energy conservation to achieve a better possibility of success for the program.

(3) The study shall produce measurable criteria that can be used by the department to determine where and under what circumstances the construction of bicycling facilities will reduce energy consumption and the need for and cost of roadway capacity, as well as realizing the associated health benefits.

(4) The department shall conduct the study with the assistance of the State Pedestrian/Bicycle Coordinator, metropolitan planning organizations, the Office of Greenways and Trails within the Department of Environmental Protection, and the Department of Health.

(5) By July 1, 2007, if sufficient funds are available in the department's budget or from the Federal Government, the study shall be completed and shall be submitted to the Governor, the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Secretary of Transportation, the Secretary of Environmental Protection, and the Secretary of Health.

History.--s. 11, ch. 2005-87.

maybe some day I will learn to spell bicycle... lol

When all is said and done, more is said than is done.

Now that I've gotten the sarcasm out of my system, that is some good stuff. Now let's see what becomes of it.

Based on what I have read on this forum, Florida seems to be a notoriously bicycle-unfriendly place. It would be nice to see this change.

When all is said and done, more is said than is done..



we can only hope, but it is a nice consept.

kudos to Florida for even coming up with it.

Our State Pedestrian/Bicycle Coordinator is Dennis Scott at the FDOT Safety Office.
http://www.dot.state.fl.us/Safety/

From a legal standpoint Florida is very bicycle friendly, it's unknowing motorists that cause the problems, which are very much in the minority of motorists, and from what I understand from some law enforcement folks from arond the state, mostly tourists. Some of them seem to think a vacation also means a vacation from traffic law.

Florida isnt very bike friendly? Better warn my dad, then. My parents are moving to Kissimme, Florida this summer i believe. I'll be visiting of course, and dont look forward to the pancake terrain//

Based on what I have read on this forum, Florida seems to be a notoriously bicycle-unfriendly place. It would be nice to see this change.

I should have written "Florida drivers are notoriously bicycle unfriendly".

Isn't the island with bicycles banned from its only access road part of Florida? Go figure ...

I should have written "Florida drivers are notoriously bicycle unfriendly".

Not sure about that, either. Just like any other state, or georgraphical area with artificially made boundaries, there are some places that are more tolerant than others. The flip side of that might read that there are some pockets of local concentrations of ignorant drivers, and yes, that just might be all of Florida in that case? :D

Seriously, I haven't noticed any mean-spririted events yet while cycling in Gainesville. The only events I see or hear of involve motorists or cyclists being careless.

In general, I think serious cyclists are more aware of the laws that govern vehicle operation on the roads, and perhaps that makes them (us) better for it.

I think that overall, Florida is weak when it comes to educating their drivers regarding vehicle and pedestrian ROW. For example, take FL statute 316.130 (7) "When traffic control signals are not in place or in operation, the driver of a vehicle shall yield the right-of-way, slowing down or stopping if need be to so yield, to a pedestrian crossing the roadway within a crosswalk when the pedestrian is upon the half of the roadway upon which the vehicle is traveling or when the pedestrian is approaching so closely from the opposite half of the roadway as to be in danger."

Not one single time have I observed a driver in my neighborhood stop for peds in a crosswalk, and presumably it is because a traffic control device is absent. Try convincing drivers that even in an unmarked crosswalk, vehicles shold still yield the right of way to pedestrians at any intersection in Florida....

Florida isnt very bike friendly? Better warn my dad, then. My parents are moving to Kissimme, Florida this summer i believe. I'll be visiting of course, and dont look forward to the pancake terrain//


I have family there ... I have been there a few times.

Everything is sprawled out because the area is just starting to develop... I have not seen any bike lanes anywhere either.. also, there are lots of immigrant farm workers there.

=)

My area (Central FL) is starting to get more bike lanes as they build new roads, but alot of them seem to end abruptly. I know of one that actually dumps you out in the middle of the road as it ends between the traffic lanes and a turn lane! Go figure. At least they are trying though. The biggest problem remains the drivers who feel we don't belong on the road. Sadly, I don't think that will ever change.