News Article

Bike Lanes Ditched

by Ally Gill

County Commission Voted 3:1 to Ditch Bike Lanes, Amend Comp Plan

I've been asked how the Board of County Commission meeting went on Tuesday night, with regard to our Comp Plan.  Lousy.  Our BoCC voted 3:1 to amend our County’s current Comprehensive Plan so that bicycle lanes or shoulders can now be left out of future County road repaving/resurfacing projects (including Tower Road), for just about any excuse County Staff can come up with, including the favorite, "we don't have enough money."   My thoughts on how it went down:   the decision to move forward with amending our Comp Plan (that currently requires bikes lanes or shoulders) was made well before the meeting and public comment was heard. During the meeting, one Commissioner stated that he strongly believes that separate bike facilities are the way to go. That is a very narrow view of how people actually use bicycles for transportation, unfortunately.  Another Commissioner stated during the meeting that he doesn't understand why a cyclist would ride in the road. The most consistently anti-bicycle Commissioner incorrectly stated that he had heard from no one asking for improvements to CR236 that would improve bicycling. That's just false, since I emailed the BoCC myself and mentioned that the Gainesville Cycling Club is rerouting the Santa Fe Century this Fall because CR236 is in such bad condition that we don't want to ride on it. I guess he forget that he responded to my email, or maybe he just never actually read it. Like I said, there were meetings that took place between our Commissioners and those who think shunting bicycles to side paths is acceptable. Amending the Comp Plan was a done deal, before this meeting took place. Because, cars. Our County Manager even suggested that we use Wild Spaces Public Places money (funds that are used to buy conservation land) to build side paths. Do you think a slab of asphalt running parallel to Tower Road meets criteria for conservation land?  I sure don't.  I hope I have pointed out what a disconnect we are dealing with, how those is charge of our County government don't think of bicyclists as road users. We are, what, adults playing on our bicycles who just need a park, 10 feet away from the cars, to play in? Happy National Bike Month (as proclaimed just a couple of weeks ago by this same County Commission).