Miami-Dade Mayor, Commissioners consider real solutions
The ‘if only’ is backwards.
After the terrible accident that killed two cyclists on the bike lane in Key Biscayne earlier this month, there are the inevitable grumblings that the county had a chance to make cycling on the Rickenbacker Causeway safer — “if only” they hadn’t killed the Plan Z overhaul and privatization proposal.
Bernard Zyscovich, the architect who dreamt up the no-bid, backroom deal for a $500 million bridge and road improvements project with “recreational amenities” in exchange for ownership of the causeway and its contracts and its tolls, told the Miami Herald that his plan would have provided a 30-foot wide biking/walking path on both sides of the causeway.
“I tried to do everything I could possibly do to at least put a plan in place to prevent terrible things from happening,” he said.
Read related: Options for Rickenbacker Causeway Plan Z considered after county analysis
No, Mr. Z. What people really should be saying is that we could have had permanent barricaded bike lanes, improved signage and other bicycle safety enhancements already, “if only” Plan Z wasn’t a real estate boondoggle that had very little to do with cycling safety and a lot to do with sub-contracts and vendors and money.
What does cycling safety have to do with beach concessions? A gift shop and restaurant? Or an observation platform? If only Plan Z wasn’t a big public grab, perhaps this wouldn’t have happened.
If only it wasn’t a roadway improvement project being handled through the parks department.
If only the former county parks director hadn’t been involved from both sides, as a public servant and as a consultant for Zyscovich, in what seems an obvious conflict of interest.
Of course, these deaths — only the latest in a long string of many needless cycling accidents — are evidence of a huge and unacceptable problem that needs to be remediated immediately. That’s why Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava has already taken some action and several commissioners have publicly committed to support long-term solutions.
Temporary traffic cones and digital signs are up, slowing the speed limit along stretches of the scenic route that is super popular with cyclists as the county looks to place some kind of permanent vertical barricades. La Alcaldesa has committed $250,000 — the most she can spend without commission approval — toward it.
There is another $15 million in this year’s budget for improvements to bicycle safety. “Of course, we need more,” Levine Cava said. She reminded the commissioners that she had sponsored a measure to take part of the road impact fees to fund bicycle safety and got no support.
“You may want to consider that now,” she said, polishing her nails on her lapel.
While it may not be enough, there is also $5 million set aside for the long overdue repairs on the Bear Cut Bridge, which Commissioner Raquel Regalado got prioritized in January. On Tuesday, Regalado asked for a report on that effort.
In other words, what’s happened and what’s happening?
Read related: Rickenbacker RFP looks like a done deal set-up for no-bid Plan Z proposal
She also raised the possibility that Plan Z could return in either the same or a different form. And the elephant in the room: raising tolls.
“We also need to have a conversation about the tolls, since part of the issue is how do we pay for it and how long will it take with the finances that we have,” Regalado said. “If the tolls we are receiving at the moment is not enough then we need to have a conversation about it.”
She asked the administration for details on the tolls: When have they been increased? When is the next projected increase? How many people use it?
Regalado also noted that certain parts of the causeway are more dangerous than others and said she didn’t understand why there can’t be barriers, especially as the county looks at the safety of bike lanes countywide.
“We put barriers down for parades! If people cant feel safe on them we’re never going to get anywhere with this. We need to rethink the whole thing,” Regalado said, asking for a comprehensive bicycle master plan.
Key Biscayne Mayor Mike Davey said there should be a Rickenbacker Causeway master plan that is created by all the stakeholders. “It is critical to work together toward a long term solution,” he said.
Commissioner Eileen Higgins, back from a trip to Washington, D.C., said three were federal dollars that the county can and should apply for to complete projects like these.
“It’s embarrassing how behind we are. One decade, two decades or one century,” she said, adding that she had to fight for years to get the armadillo pavers — hard plastic bumpers shaped like the animal’s back — to keep drivers off the bike lane on the Venetian Causeway and other areas.
“We are not a cycling town, we don’t have safe streets for cyclists or pedestrians. We have to fix that going forward especially if we want to get people out of their cars,” Higgins said, adding that MacArthur Causeway was also a dangerous stretch that needs to be addressed.
Read related: Miami Beach dodges causeway Plan Z for privatization, but not Key Biscayne
Commissioner Oliver Gilbert said it was dangerous all over the county. “The lack of respect that we have for cyclists is astounding in this county, and we do need to do a better job with facilities,” he said.
Commissioner Kionne McGhee said the county should seek sponsors or private donors. That is a great idea. Barricades can be like billboards with changing images and ads depending on who wants to send a message. It could generate the income needed to fix and maintain the causeway.
Under Florida law, Regalado explained, cycles are considered vehicles and cyclists have a right to be on the road. “What this county has done is say that bike lanes are a priority so that folks who do not want to be in the road with the cars can be on the bike lanes and be safe.
“If we are teaching kids to stay on the bike lane, then we have to do everything we can to make the bike lanes safe,” Regalado said. “When we were talking about Plan Z, folks were talking about charging cyclists to use the causeway, more tolling.
“Are we going to revive Plan Z? Are we going to do something else?”
Something has to be done, she said.
That’s true. But it doesn’t include an observation deck and gift shop.
Rickenbacker Causeway bike safety was casualty of Plan Z public land grab added by Ladra on
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Unless the plans for bike safety include a toll for bike riders I will not support it. While I lament the deaths of all the bike riders that has occurred on this roadway over the years, many bicyclist have created problems with their riding behavior and their attitudes. Regardless of these issues bicyclists must pay at least a portion of the cost and tolls for bikes, in my opinion are required.
No bid contract? Back room deal making? Massive fee to the promoter? Plan Z looks like another sleazy Miami-Dade County deal. Some of us remember elected officials voted to steal / divert over $3 Billion from the taxpayers and give it to the owner of the Marlins baseball team. Plan Z? Honest citizens will say, Hell No.
Foot scooters on the sidewalk; use the bike paths. Consider staying off Miami’s Street Traffic, riding a bicycle as you age, barring special situations such as group bike clubs; safety in numbers! Experience counts.
” The city could have fixed the bike problem a zillion years ago by erecting a solid barrier between the bike lanes and the general traffic.”
Agree but that would mean an inexpensive and fast solution not drawn out expensive drama where politicians / officials / contractors make extra money at the expense of tax payers ,
A big problem in Miami is that laws are not enforced as far as bike riders and some riders seem suicidal .
I have thankfully sold my condo in KB and moved to Coral Gables, but this entire discussion is absurd on so many levels:
Plan “Z” was, as Ladra points out, a total money grab. There is no need or desire among KBers to have plan “Z” at all.
The city could have fixed the bike problem a zillion years ago by erecting a solid barrier between the bike lanes and the general traffic. No need to decrease the speed limit at all, just put in some concrete barriers, paint them with nice beach themes and you’re done.
While I am always sorry to see someone die uselessly, cyclists, too, have a responsibility to ride well. Right now, the pelotons are just as aggressive, chaotic and badly behaved as general traffic. There is certainly a hate for them coming from all sides and, in 90% of the cases, that hatred has been solidly earned.
Just put the concrete barriers up and stop moaning.
In the early 90s I ran a small business from my home. At the end of each day I had items to mail and I would ride my bicycle from my home to the post office, less than a mile away. I chose a route that kept me away from cars as much as possible. But there was no way to avoid the last section of the route near a Publix parking lot and the post office. As careful as I was, there were too many close calls with cars that I finally decided that this little bit of daily exercise wasn’t worth the likelihood that I would be hit by a car, so I gave up the bike idea and decided it would be best if I drove.
The appeal of riding a bicycle, walking or running alongside the beautiful water and over the big bridge is obvious. For those few sections of the causeway that are known to be dangerous, just give up a lane for the cars, put in a solid barrier and make it safe for everyone. Drivers will get used to the minor inconvenience. It’s not as if traffic flows smoothly and unrestricted anywhere else in the county. Why should the causeway be any different?
With due respect to the other responders. I disagree that Plan-Zyscovich was proposed for ‘pelotons’, which only use the causeway in the mornings. Those riders (as annoying as they can be) and other recreational cyclists were mostly opposed to it. The Disneyesque design was aimed at the general public and infrequent cyclists with little experience.
Yesterday, I rode my bike from my house in Miami Lakes to my brother’s house in Coconut Grove. Choosing a route that minimizes vehicle interaction is always a challenge – but possible – and easier on a Sunday. Once the causeway solution is funded, let’s look at urban connection routes countywide.
Unbelievable that they are bringing about Plan Z to the table. A plan that was designed to serve Peloton training without putting as The Priority the amount of commuters in & out of Key Biscayne, Mast Academy, Marine & Biologist ect. ect that not only live in the island but also work on the island.
The Peloton training put everyone at risk, every morning, it is Not about the Speed Limit only, it is how they just swamp from one Lane to the other. They just put their arm and throw themselves, it doesn’t matter if they have a car right next they just throw themselves at the Car.
God forbids one day there is an accident because it could mean several people dying.
If the Pelotons in Miami need an area then should advocate for a BikeDrome Not to take over the Rickenbacker Causeway and put everyone in Danger. Let make it clear the causeway primary investment is transportation for the Community of KB, Crandon Park & Marina, the Schools, the Beaches and much more … Key Biscayne was NOT designed and cannot be designed as a BikeDrome to satisfy a few Bikers.
Miami-Dade authority has mean lingering in the issue as if they for some reason fear the Pelotons’ members or as if they had more power than the rest of the community.
This Unbelievable.
Dear Mayor Levine-Cava,
It is unfortunate when anyone is killed or injured when driving, biking, or walking. In the case of the telegenic Rickenbacker Causeway the danger is overhyped by local news outlets, politicians, and architect-developers. In the last 20 years there been fewer than 10 bike casualties on the causeway, but there have been almost 100 times more elsewhere in the county. This is a slightly outdated map
https://miamigeographic.files.wordpress.com/2015/07/mg_mdc_bikecrash_2005.jpg .
We should also take note that the majority of the causeway casualties occurred before the Bear Cut Bridge and Crandon Boulevard bike lanes were upgraded. Finally, the ‘demands’ and ‘calls’ by some for protected bike and pedestrian lanes ignore the fact that most of the causeway ALREADY has lanes separated from car traffic. There are a few areas that need improvements, notably where turning cars and bikes interact, and westbound portions of the causeway that have no barriers. In short, we need a Plan-A to fix what its broken and it doesn’t need to cost a fortune.
Sincerely,
SLL
Cc. Commissioner Higgins
Commissioner Carollo
Ladra , Mr Z is not talking about the recreational bikers. His project is for the pelotons that daily terrorize the Causeway and then go into Crandon Blvd, making driving imposible, dangerous and risky their / our life during commuting hours.
Bikes are Been Rammed Down Our throat In All The Road plans ! We are Not “HANOI” Look at The Big Mistake at DOWN TOWN MIAMI S.W. 1 St. Transportation Alliance EXPERIMENT Where Coming of The 1 St. Bridge on 3 Lanes Becomes a Single Vehicle Lane What a FUNNEL ?
Decades of local policies that prioritize low spending led to the Plan Z, not just some architects. There was literally no way to get a half-billion dollars to protect cyclists on one road. They’re a cost center for the county, not a profit center, so politically, the idea needs someone to pay for it because the County doesn’t want to pay for anything or operate anything.
Graft. Grifters. Con. Plan Z was always about Bernard Zyscovich making money for himself. He wanted fees. He wanted rent. He wanted the taxpayers to give him public property.