DISPUTE OVER BICYCLE LANES HEADS TO STATE CAPITAL
MEMORIAL RIDE TO HONOR BICYCLISTS
AND THEN SOME


DISPUTE OVER BICYCLE LANES HEADS TO STATE CAPITAL

TALLAHASSEE — A Highland Beach bicyclist took his fight for bike lanes
to the state capital Monday, arguing before a Department of
Transportation hearing officer that officials ignored the department's
own guidelines when it refused to include them in a repaving project
through some of Palm Beach County's wealthiest oceanfront towns.

Lawrence Silverman, lawyer for cyclist Bruce Rosenzweig, the Boca Raton
Bicycle Club and the League of American Bicyclists, said that DOT
witnesses' testimony proved his contention that the department does not
consider bike lines a high priority.

"I think we've made our point," he said after the day-long hearing.

DOT lawyer Erik Fenniman argued that bike lanes are, in fact, created at
the discretion of the department, which can consider other factors like
high cost and local sentiment. A ruling from hearing officer Ananth
Prasad, himself a DOT engineer, is expected by late January. The losing
side can appeal in court.

The dispute centers on a length of A1A running through Gulf Stream,
Ocean Ridge, Manalapan, South Palm Beach and Palm Beach, and whether the
state must provide either five-foot wide shoulders for bicyclists or, in
the alternative, a marked, signed three-foot wide bike lane.
Silverman, who said he sued earlier this year after failing to get an
answer from the Department of Transportation as to why it would not
build bike lanes, contended that state law requires the department,
whenever practicable, to build them on new or refurbished roads.

He added that the department's refusal to put in bike lanes was based on
opposition from "wealthy residents" who lived in "very expensive homes."
As evidence he pointed to the Delray Beach to Palm Beach section of the
department's 2005 "Statewide Bicycle Facilities Study," which states
that the department "met with strict opposition to the inclusion of
on-road bikeways and sidewalks. The opposition stemmed from the concerns
that additional asphalt would take away from existing landscaping,
driveways, walls and gates that had been constructed by residents over
time. Some of these physical barriers actually encroached into FDOT
right-of-way." "They didn't want to encourage bicycling. They don't
care. This is not their concern," Silverman said.

Kenneth Spillias, a lawyer representing the five municipalities,
defended the opposition to the bike lanes as a legitimate point of view.
"One person's lobbying and political pressure is another person's
community input," he said, adding that residents wanted to maintain
those things that "make the town nice to live in." "There is an ambiance
issue. There is a private property issue," Spillias said, but then added
that residents understand they do not have control over the state land
on either side of the existing pavement that would be used in a widening
project. "They realize they have no right to the right-of-way."

By S.V. Date
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/localnews/content/local_news/epaper/2006/12/11/1211cyclefeed.html



MEMORIAL RIDE TO HONOR BICYCLISTS

On the day after Christmas 1996 an inattentive truck driver in Clay
County drove into six cyclists, killing Margaret Raynal and Doug Hill of
Gainesville. Outraged cyclists conferred by e-mail and resolved to
reestablish the FBA.

December 26, 2006, marks ten years since this tragic event. To
commemorate and honor those who have been killed in bicycle crashes, a
short memorial service, followed by a bike ride to the second overlook
(or farther for those who wish) will be held at the Depot Avenue/3rd
Street trail head of the Gainesville-Hawthorne Trail at 10:00 am. 
Please spread the word to all levels of cyclists, friends of Margaret
and Doug, friends of Eric (the sculptor who created the monuments of all
six cyclists) and friends of other cyclists who have lost their lives
while cycling.  This event is a celebration of our cycling friends.


AND THEN SOME

"Positive anything is better than negative nothing." -Elbert Hubbard

"Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep
moving." -- Albert Einstein

"The best eraser in the world is a good night's sleep." -Orlando A.
Battista