BROWARD | Bicycle & Pedestrian Infrastructure

[mr jones]

Map fixed

[ftlauddude]

From their facebook updates: Here is the link to the complete map of the proposed Broward B-cycle station sites for the first phase of the operation. Please note that some of these sites are still subject to change as we go through the final permitting process. http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msa=0...24411&t=h&z=11

[mr jones]

Two things: 1) Whole Foods station seems weird (currently in the wrong spot on the map)? It's pretty far from all the other stations, plus 6 lane 45mph Federal Hwy isn't the best place to be biking, IMO. 2) Wonder why Las Olas Blvd wasn't chosen.

[ftlauddude]

Originally Posted by mr jones

Two things: 1) Whole Foods station seems weird (currently in the wrong spot on the map)? It's pretty far from all the other stations, plus 6 lane 45mph Federal Hwy isn't the best place to be biking, IMO. 2) Wonder why Las Olas Blvd wasn't chosen.

That's what I thought too. Shouldn't it be by NW 4th St and US1? A location by Cheesecake Factory would have been wonderful...

[mr jones]

Broward Bcycle bike sharing web site up w/ map - http://broward.bcycle.com/

[ftlauddude]

Awesome! I'll get my annual membership...

[ftlauddude]

Broward to roll out bike-sharing program soon

Broward embraces B-cycle system

By Brittany Wallman, Sun Sentinel

7:49 p.m. EDT, September 16, 2011

A new form of public transportation in South Florida will roll out soon — a system that requires no gasoline, breezes past traffic gridlock, and might even make its riders thinner. It's called a bicycle.

Broward County is in the vanguard of the emerging bike-sharing trend in the United States, a concept only recently adopted here but popularized years ago in Europe. Miami Beach is one of the few cities already decked out with public bicycles. Delray Beach officials are toying with the concept there, as well.

B-cycles' bicycles become available in mid-November in Broward as a new commuting, errand-running or tourist sight-seeing option in Fort Lauderdale, Pompano Beach and Hollywood. Soon after, bike kiosks will appear in Hallandale Beach, Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, Dania Beach and Coconut Creek, officials with B-cycle promise.

The way it works: Bikes are stationed at kiosks in densely populated areas, and riders 18 years and older swipe credit cards for an annual, monthly or hourly jaunt. The pricing is set to encourage short trips: Pay $5 for a 24-hour pass, allowing you to rent the bikes. Then pay 50 cents for the first half hour, and $3 for every half hour after that.

The bikes aren't meant to be hogged all day like a rental bike might be; the point is to hop aboard for a short errand or trip to work, then drop the bike at another kiosk for the next person to use. The bikes are equipped with GPS locators, and if a rider doesn't return it, the bill is $1,200.

True, some say it's too hot, rainy or downright dangerous to use a bike to get around here, Broward County Commissioner Kristin Jacobs said, but she thinks South Floridians can overcome that kind of whining.

"I'm hoping this is the beginning of a movement,'' Jacobs said, repeating a slogan she saw on a billboard: "You're not stuck in traffic. You are traffic. Ride a bike.''

Minneapolis is one of the biggest bike-riding cities in the country, she said. And if people can embrace bike riding there, why not here?

"Their winters are wicked. Their summers are horrid. And they're still out there riding their bikes,'' Jacobs said.

Just this week, New York City signed on to what will be America's largest program, with a goal of 10,000 bikes, said bike-sharing consultant Paul DeMaio of MetroBike in Washington, D.C. Baltimore approved a bike-sharing deal this week, as well, he said. Bike-sharing launched earlier this year in San Antonio and Miami Beach.

Denver, Boulder, Chicago, Des Moines and Boston also have public bike-sharing.

"The B-cycle program here is actually going pretty well,'' reports Mike Strott, a staffer in the Denver mayor's office. "I've used them a lot.''

Denver has a contract with the same company Broward will use, B-cycle LLC. Broward gave B-cycle $311,000 from a state grant, and will allow the company to sell advertising to support operations and maintenance. The company took on the insurance and legal risks for the bikes, according to the contract commissioners unanimously approved Tuesday.

Delray Beach doesn't have that kind of money, sustainability officer Richard Reade said, but elected officials there expressed interest in seeking proposals from bike companies.

Reade said the city's relatively small size could deter a company, so he said staff is exploring whether other cities in Palm Beach County might join Delray to offer a larger market. He wouldn't say which cities had been approached.

"It's just a matter of cost,'' he said. "They've got to lay out the money to do it,'' he said of the bike vendor.

Some cities, like Miami Beach, require the bike providers to share their revenues. That's not happening here.

Miami Beach spokeswoman Nannette Rodriguez said the readily available bikes were a good fit with that dense area, where parking can be difficult.

"The whole idea is it's a transportation system,'' Rodriguez said. "It's not just to go out there and ride a bike.''

The bikes are everywhere, she said, with 1,000 bikes in the 7-square-mile city the ultimate goal, compared to sprawling Broward's goal of 575. In Broward, downtown Fort Lauderdale is still dominated by office buildings and retail, not condos and residents. The system eventually will have 40 bike stations, a limited number Jacobs said will be the "biggest hindrance to this program's success.''

She predicted that tourists riding to the beaches might give the Broward system its initial bike-sharing burst. Getting everyone else onto the bikes will be a bigger leap, she predicts, requiring substantial marketing buzz.

"That's going to take a little bit of cultural change here,'' she said. "I think it's a nudge.''

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/bro...,4287531.story

[ftlauddude]

[ftlauddude]

[ftlauddude]

Sharing it here....

Originally Posted by ftlauddude

Broward launches public bike-sharing program

Riders rent bikes for short rides

By Brittany Wallman, Sun Sentinel

9:12 p.m. EST, December 14, 2011
Public transportation just got really simple in Broward – it's two wheels and a place to sit. You bring the motor.

The county's mass bicycle-sharing system launched Wednesday, offering a new way to get around without driving, riding a gas-gulping bus or walking.

The county and seven cities — Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood, Pompano Beach, Coconut Creek, Dania Beach, Lauderdale-by-the-Sea and Hallandale — have been working for a year with the company B-cycle to reach Wednesday's launch, changing city sign laws, getting permission from state, county or city governments to use public land for the bike stations, and hiring employees

Twenty bike stations with 200 bikes in Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood and Pompano Beach are open for use now, with plans for more than 500 bikes at 39 stations in all seven cities.

Broward Commissioner Kristin Jacobs said the system is the first countywide operation in the United States. She asked a crowd at Wednesday's launching celebration which American city they thought had the most bike riders. Portland, someone asked? Minneapolis, she answered.

But in Minneapolis on Wednesday, it was 37 degrees. In Fort Lauderdale, the crowd sat listening to Jacobs in short sleeves, outdoors.

"This is absolutely the best place to ride a bike,'' Jacobs said. "Far better than Minneapolis and even better than Portland."

Cities across the country have embraced the bike-sharing systems, attempting to capture the bike-riding spirit of places like Paris. In South Florida, Miami Beach is ahead of Broward, with a mass bike-sharing system already in place there. Officials in Delray Beach are interested in launching one as well.

Wilton Manors Vice Mayor Tom Green said he and his colleagues talked Tuesday about bike sharing.

"I want one of these in Wilton Manors,'' he said, citing his city's "walkability."

The county's transportation director, Chris Walton, said he predicts an expansion.

"We've had a number of inquiries from practically every city in the county,'' he said.

Here's how the Broward system works: Sign up for a $45 one-year membership, for the most economical option. Members pay no charge for the first half hour, and $1 for the following half hour. Prices get steeper the longer you keep the bike, with a maximum of $65. Your credit card is debited after you swipe your B-cycle card at the bike station.

Ride it to another bike station and leave it there, or use the lock attached to the bike to leave it while you run into the market or grab lunch.

A rider who doesn't sign up for the annual membership pays substantially higher rates, with $5 as the base rate, 50 cents for the first half hour, and $3 for every additional half hour. Under that rate structure, a person testing out the bikes would pay $8.50 to ride the bike to lunch for an hour.

Weekly passes are similar, but with a $25 base rate.

B-cycle President Bob Burns said riders who sign up for an annual membership on Thursday will get $10 off, using a coupon code on the company's website, broward.bcycle.com.

Friday, using the website groupon.com, memberships will be half price. Beyond then, the $10 coupon is available.

South Florida is not known for being particularly pedestrian and bike-rider friendly.

[ftlauddude]

Phase Two of Flagler Greenway Breaks Ground Today

July 30, 2012.

We reported back in October of last year that the city would begin construction in March of 2012 on the Flagler Drive Greenway city improvement project.

With the completion of Phase l in about month from now, that stretch of road from North Andrews Avenue to Sunrise Boulevard will be beautified with decorative street lighting, lush landscaping, including mature palm trees, a wide bike/pedestrian path, as well as street furniture for seating.


Phase ll of the greenway broke ground today between NW 5 St. and NW 2 St. on Flagler Drive. The work is an extension of Phase l, and will consist of an asphalt bike and pedestrian pathway, fencing, minor landscaping and irrigation.

That part of the greenway will link to bike lanes that will lead to downtown. Also, the county has a master plan that would eventually have a greenway spanning the county along the Dixie Highway corridor.

The city received $500,000 from the Florida Department of Transportation, and another $300,000 from the Northwest Community Redevelopment Agency to undertake the project.

Today's groundbreaking of the greenway, should come in very handy, and provide shading and convenience, along with improved safety, for people who walk along that corridor, as its street ends at the city bus terminal. This is a heavily traffic area, and the newly developed Flagler Drive should serve the city and its residents very well.

Phase ll of the Flagler Greenway is estimated to be completed August 24, 2012.


Read more at http://www.myfortlauderdale.org/2012...zOYgPSGjlKV.99

[mr jones]

Phase I looks pretty nice, although I think the path is too narrow. It will be interesting to see how Phase II in constructed with interaction with more intersections and buildings.

[ftlauddude]

Originally Posted by mr jones

Phase I looks pretty nice, although I think the path is too narrow. It will be interesting to see how Phase II in constructed with interaction with more intersections and buildings.

I agree with you. Saturday I drove by it and realized the same thing. I'll have to ride a bike there and see how it really goes. That intersection of Andrews Ave and Dixie Hwy will be interesting; dunno really if it's going to cross and enter FAT Village first and then back to the street parallel to the RR tracks or what 'cause they dont have the minimum ROW (I think is 25') from the tracks... will see...

[mr jones]

It's also way too short, it should at least hit Riverwalk and possibly Wilton Manors to make it worth while. But baby steps are welcomed

[mr jones]

Two new projects connecting downtown.


Las Olas Blvd Complete Streets
Start Date: Dec 2014
End Date: Jun 2015

Design and construct a complete street for Las Olas Boulevard from Andrews Avenue to SE 15th Avenue. Elements include: ADA compliant trolley bus stops, on-street parking, expanded sidewalks, bike lanes, street trees and traffic calming measures for the surrounding neighborhoods.

Complete streets are roadways designed for safe, attractive, and comfortable access and travel for pedestrians, bicyclists, motorists and public transportation users of all ages and abilities. Elements may include: wide sidewalks, raised crosswalks, median crossing islands, sidewalk bulb-outs (to reduce street crossing length), better lighting, accessible pedestrian signals, including audible cues for people with low vision and pushbuttons reachable by wheelchair users, traffic calming measures to lower driving speeds and define the edges of travel lanes, including road diets, sm (unfortunately document cut off here)

There have been recent pedestrian fatalities in the area highlighting the safety issues in the area. Colee Hammock has developed a Transportation Master Plan for only the Colee Hammock neighborhood, however a comprehensive assessment of the needs of the entire area must be conducted.

Complete Streets improve safety, lower transportation costs, provide alternatives to private vehicles, encourage health through walking and biking, create a sense of place and may improve adjacent property values.



4th Ave Greenway
Start Date: Nov 2014
End Date: Nov 2015

The limits of this project are SW 4th Avenue from Broward Boulevard to Snyder Park. Greenways are wide separated linear pathways serving multiple purposes. They typically incorporate a sidewalk or bike path within a linear park. In urban settings they are a component of planning for bicycle commuting and walkability. Greenways serve the purpose of providing access to open land managed as parks and provide an alternative for people who are elderly, young, less mobile, or seeking a reflective pace.

This greenway is part of the City’s Multimodal Connectivity network. It will serve as part of the north/south spine of the network. This greenway will connect the downtown area to a trailhead at Snyder Park on the south end of the city. It will also tie into the SE 17th Street Causeway access to Fort Lauderdale Beach (east/west spine of the network). This facility has been identified in the 2035 Long Range Transportation Plan and the Broward County Greenway Plan.

[mr jones]

Intersection of Las Olas & 9th Ave and Las Olas & 8th Ave has an "all walk" signals. Says trial on the sign. Witnessed it at 9th Ave tonight during dinner. Seemed to work pretty well, hopefully it stays.

[Andyxox]

Originally Posted by mr jones

Intersection of Las Olas & 9th Ave and Las Olas & 8th Ave has an "all walk" signals. Says trial on the sign. Witnessed it at 9th Ave tonight during dinner. Seemed to work pretty well, hopefully it stays.

Had to look this one up to understand what you meant! Found a pic of it online

[Aceventura]

So I take it this means auto traffic is stopped in all directions allowing pedestrians to cross the intersection as they see fit? That's what they have all over Japan, the most famous being Shibuya crossing.

[CF221]

That's great. That's what we need at FIU.

[mr jones]

Originally Posted by Aceventura

So I take it this means auto traffic is stopped in all directions allowing pedestrians to cross the intersection as they see fit?

Yes sir.