The pilot project cost under a million dollars for the two Miami-Dade County bridges together. The most expensive part was adding a hand railing to the wall at the edge of the bridge — there's no wall between the bikes and the cars. In some cases FDOT and its team painted sharrows and crossings for cyclists to navigate tricky areas like on-ramps, sometimes they added green paint to point out conflict zones. They added rumble strips and striping that would vibrate and make noise if drivers veered out of their lane. They replaced some drainage grates with ones that wouldn't be dangerous to bike tires. All in all, not a particularly expensive retrofit.
http://usa.streetsblog.org/2014/09/25/complete-freeways-florida-tries-bike-lanes-on-highway-bridges/
A pretty simple solution, but how many bridges have extra lanes/space not being used? Certainly would not be an option on the Dames Point Bridge.
^^Some of the bridges are awfully steep also - and very high, windy, etc. This looks like a good start, but of course from the ground up design and build is the ultimate solution, like our local Fuller Warren rebuild.
I'm glad they're noticing and being embarrassed by the dangers and our low ranking safety-wise. In the future, bikes simply have to be given first-class citizen status.
Retrofitting the Dames Point would be nearly pointless. The add on would either diminish the views from the bridge or ruin the sleekness of the design from the outside.
It would probably make more sense to create a dedicated bike/pedway as its own to cross the the SJR. Preferably downtown.
Quote from: mbwright on September 26, 2014, 10:12:15 AM
A pretty simple solution, but how many bridges have extra lanes/space not being used? Certainly would not be an option on the Dames Point Bridge.
most of them actually...FDOT likes to build shoulders on bridges and that's what these are.
That said, The bridges in Miami are part of FDOT's demonstration program....most bridges in the state don't qualify...unless of course the program is expanded.
Quote from: spuwho on September 26, 2014, 12:03:33 PM
Retrofitting the Dames Point would be nearly pointless. The add on would either diminish the views from the bridge or ruin the sleekness of the design from the outside.
It would probably make more sense to create a dedicated bike/pedway as its own to cross the the SJR. Preferably downtown.
I vote we tear it down and replace it with a tunnel. That will allow for bigger cruise ships also ;)
Quote from: coredumped on September 26, 2014, 01:02:49 PM
Quote from: spuwho on September 26, 2014, 12:03:33 PM
Retrofitting the Dames Point would be nearly pointless. The add on would either diminish the views from the bridge or ruin the sleekness of the design from the outside.
It would probably make more sense to create a dedicated bike/pedway as its own to cross the the SJR. Preferably downtown.
I vote we tear it down and replace it with a tunnel. That will allow for bigger cruise ships also ;)
don't kid...that's one of the options being studied for Tampa Bay's Sunshine Skyway
Quote from: stephendare on September 26, 2014, 01:15:28 PM
you know that ships have stuff underneath the water as well, right?
Get out of town! I thought they just hovered OVER the water. I never really did figure out how things float, thanks Stephen. :-\ ::)
Anyway, with this vast knowledge, you had better tell the Port Miami Project people, they'd love to hear from you:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port_Miami_Tunnel#Cruise_traffic
QuoteIn addition to the expected increase in cargo traffic, the Port of Miami recently stated that October 2010 was its busiest October ever for cruise vacations. The port had a record 346,513 cruise passengers that October, up 29% from October 2009. This follows a record year in cruise traffic, with 4.15 million cruise passengers in the 12 months that ended in September
I'm waiting for the Shands and the Buckman paths!
ummm....why not add a concrete barrier to separate the modes of traffic? This is an example of Brent Toderian's quote about Florida doing bad things better. Yes, allowing bikes on the shoulder is better than nothing at all. However, the speeds don't mix well and the average person will never use this. This type of stuff is the reason Florida's cities rank so high in pedestrian and cyclist deaths. Get with the program and physically separate bikes and pedestrians from cars going 70 mph on an expressway.
(http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa111/Ocklawaha/URBANISM/98363636_230e6497b2_o_zps629bb0fe.jpg)
BOGOTA (TYPICAL)
AMEN LAKE! +1000. Ever since living in South America and seeing the incredible urban infrastructure they've built for the bikes and pedestrians I have wished we could duplicate it.
The way I see it, if you won't let your wife and kids use the facility, a better solution is needed. That solution is simple. Physically separate the modes.
QuoteThe way I see it, if you won't let your wife and kids use the facility, a better solution is needed. That solution is simple. Physically separate the modes.
I said this exact same thing in a bunch of other threads & got slammed for it. I assume its from road cyclists who like to pretend they're cars & thus we should just treat them (and anyone else who enjoys cycling) as such, even with infrastructure. Either that or people who don't see a value in making separate modes & think a road that's built for cars should just be a catch all.
I also believe there's a sorta rift between the types of cyclists out there that doesn't help matters. The spandex brigade thinks that they should get top billing & only their opinions matter (because they're the "real" cyclists afterall). Whereas a guy that just wants to ride safe with his kids is considered a lesser of the two.
http://bicycledutch.wordpress.com/2012/08/23/spectacular-new-floating-cycle-roundabout/
An idea for future traffic combatibility in JAX. Pie in the sky?
I'm much more worried about our automobiles, anti-pedestrian bicycle drivers, then I am about a collision with a pedestrian whilst struggling over that thing.
FACT IS, fancy bridges, correct bike lanes, pretty trim, decorative lighting, etc. are likely in Florida's darling cities, Tampa, Orlando, West Palm, Ft. Lauderdale, Boca Raton or Miami. They are generally about as likely to be granted in Jacksonville as teeth in a chicken, the Fuller Warren 'Project' notwithstanding.