Thanks for your comment. Most roads in the Beaches do not have very high speed limits. Strict speed limit enforcement does improve subjective safety for bicyclists.

Fenn,

Thank you for your comment. I touched on appropriate behavior in previous posts. Your comment gives me an idea for a new post. This post is geared more towards why families do not ride bikes on roads that they pay for and what can change that.

The law that lets bikes use roads leads to people like you being run off and hit. All very unfortunate. There is quality sense in holding on to that law on roads with speed limits higher than 35 mpg. Worse is that majority of businesses that a family can visit are on high traffic roads.

Segregated bike paths will also be paid by us and used by a lot more people. They will use it to save gas money and other car related expenses leading to higher savings and expenditure towards local businesses. Can you imagine how many people would benefit in today’s tough market with one less car? Would you feel comfortable riding on Southside Blvd with Method A or B?

1. You didn’t talk about appropriate clothing and behavior in terms of using turn signals, etc. I think that you should ALWAYS address that. I see so many cyclists behaving inappropriately, and it drives me crazy, as cycling is almost always dangerous anyway.

2. In America, bikes are considered motor vehicles, subject to all the same laws as cars, and using the same roads as cars. We shouldn’t have to have our own, separate bike trail. We pay for those roads, and they should just make room for us. I appreciate what you’re suggesting about the separate bike path and it’s family-friendliness, but it’s super annoying to me that we have to be relegated to something else, when the roads are supposed to be ours as well.

I, for one, would never ride Southside. I used to bike all the time back home. Having been hit by cars twice, in a small town, and on a busy road, I won’t do it here. I was in the break down lane, with less traffic than here, and better drivers than here, and I was still hit. Plus, I was run off the road several times. I would NEVER ride on a busy road in Jax. It’s too dangerous.