Complete street corridor

White paper regarding the rationale for presenting a preferred option for the future design of Gulf of Mexico Drive (v. March 9th, 2022).

(this paper is proposed by the Longboat Key Bike Association represented by their president Howard Tessler)

Definition and Acronyms:

+GMD: Gulf of Mexico Drive

+”Serious cyclists” are defined for this memo as cyclists riding at an average speed of 15MPH or more and using on-road bike lanes or paved shoulders.

+”Casual/avid cyclists” are defined for this memo as cyclists riding at a lower average speed and who may choose to ride on either the on-road bike lane or the off-road path.

+FBA: Florida Bicycle Association

+FDOT: Florida Department of Transportation

+Bike groups in the area:

LBKBA: Longboat Key Bike Association representing riders mostly based on Longboat Key. LBKBA caters to all riders living on LBK.

PSP: Palma Sola Peloton representing a casual community of riders in the Sarasota/Bradenton area

Village Idiots Cycling Club: A Sarasota and Lakewood Ranch group

Velo and many other groups currently exist and ride these roads

SMBC: Sarasota Manatee Bike Club representing a formally organized group of riders in the Sarasota/Bradenton area. For the purpose of this white paper, SMBC president Richard Garrett agreed to represent all these groups and speak with one voice on their behalf.

We estimate that these groups represent a total of 1,700 cyclists and a large fraction of the “serious cyclists” using GMD.

Facts:

+GMD is a popular road for cyclists. Numbers would need to be confirmed by more formal counting procedures. Strava’s bicycle heat map (www.strava.com/heatmap), provides a worldwide aggregation of trips recorded by users of that bike tracking app, and verifies the heavy use of GMD.

+There are many more cyclists using the GMD on-road bike lane than generally believed. We think more than 50% of riders are cyclists using the on-road bike lane and this percentage is even higher on weekends. It is a clear fact that the future design needs to accommodate the wide range of cyclist currently using GMD.

+The current on-road bike lanes on GMD do not have a consistent width. It varies between 3 feet and 5 feet. Furthermore, we have received a high number of comments regarding the bad condition of the bike lane especially on the Manatee County side where the surface is uneven and bumpy. A redesign would allow for bringing GMD in line with the latest FDOT design standards.

+ The town of LBK issued a document under the signature of its town manager (Tom Harmer) on November 9th, 2021, labelled Gulf Of Mexico Drive (State Road 789) Complete Streets Corridor Plan update.

+We consulted with FBA represented by Ed Barsotti (Bicycle Infrastructure Assistance Program Director). Ed indicated that as per FDOT standards (mostly described in Section 223 of the FDOT Design Manual), the presentation seemed to limit the 35mph design choices to only off-road accommodations, whereas the standards allowed for more flexibility of choices.

Discussion:

+All the groups under the caption of “serious cyclists” represented by Richard Garrett DO NOT WANT an off-road multi-use path to be the sole bicycle accommodation. It will be extremely dangerous to mix on one off-road path all types of riders with pedestrians, children, dogs and vehicle drivers (often with poor yielding and stopline compliance) entering or exiting residences. This is regardless of whether the off-road path has specific marked bike lanes in an attempt to separate bikes and pedestrians, as experience elsewhere has shown that method not to work well. However it is configured, forcing serious cyclists onto an off-road path would in all cases seriously expose the safety of everyone on the path.  In a scenario with no on-road bike lanes or paved shoulders, it is likely that many or even most serious cyclists would opt to ride in the traffic lanes instead of on the off-road path, for safety reasons.  This is counterintuitive for non-bicyclists and casual bicyclists, who often underestimate the risks that faster cyclists face from crosswalk intersections and from less predictable off-road path users. Not having on-road bike lanes or paved shoulders for these on-road cyclists would negatively affect both their safety and GMD’s traffic flow.

+Casual/avid cyclists would fall in the category of these using the on-road bike lane or the off-road path. We did not interview these using the off-road path, but spot checks and informal feedback indicate that they WANT to use a separate off-road path where they say they do not mind sharing with pedestrians and others.

+FBA, based on staff’s extensive knowledge of bike infrastructure design standards and best practices, is recommending properly accommodating both serious and casual/avid cyclists from the design phase and within the frame of FDOT standards.

+ Eliminating the on-road bike lane on GMD as being one solution presented by the consultants would mean the end of cycling on LBK. The future design MUST include accommodations to an on-road bike lane.

+The consensus is that all groups actually like the current design of GMD (hence its current popularity) and only would like to see it be modernized and upgraded to the latest FDOT standards.

+ Improved biking on LBK is good for everyone—-businesses, tourists, families and long and short-term residents and all serious, avid, casual and recreational cyclists. Improving the biking infrastructure on LBK would improve safety and be a major recreational enhancement to the community, much like the Tennis Center.

Recommendation:

Based on the information received, the data collected, FDOT standards, as well as the input of both serious and casual cyclists we recommend:

+On-road, marked, buffered bike lanes of 7 feet on both sides of GMD be established to cater mostly to these cyclists using the existing on-road bike lane. This buffered bike lanes needs to be uncurbed so that riders can escape onto the grass in case of emergency. The on-road buffered bike lanes would keep most serious cyclists away from off-road casual cyclists and pedestrians.

+The buffer space of the on-road buffered bike lanes should include an appropriate a non-elevated Audible and Vibratory Treatment (AVT) to alert car drivers they are about to infringe on a bike lane.  From FDOT’s FDM 210.4.6 and Standard Plans 546-010, use either Type C1 cylindrical, C2 sinusoidal rumble strips, or profiled thermoplastic between the lane edge line and buffer line.

+An unmarked multi-use path of 12 feet should be established on the East side of GMD to cater to these other cyclists, pedestrians with dogs and children and any other type of slow traffic (skaters, runners, etc…). This multi-use path would cater to both Northbound and Southbound traffic.

 Additional important remarks and suggestions:

+The town’s broader community discussion on speed limit is a separate conversation than our recommended design, which should meet FDOT standards regardless of a 35mph or 45mph speed limit. We do not advocate for a choice in speed limit other than it should be dealt with independently from the design solution.

+A flush median with a Two-way left turn Lane (TWLTL) would be advisable for cars to safely enter or exit residences without blocking a traffic lane while stopped awaiting a gap in traffic.  This blockage often leads to cars behind using the bike lane to get around. 

+In case pedestrians prefer, we support the design including a West sidewalk exclusively for pedestrians.

+This recommendation does not include views on e-bikes but it is clear that we need to address the issue at some point.  

……………………………………………….End of Document Final March 9th, 2022