Bikers - use the BIKE path!

[Uncle Timmy]

Tim; from your posts it would seem that you are not a biker. It is far easier for you in a car to drive to 98 to get to your destination.I live off 30a, as i know you do. If I have a destination on or near 30a, I am not riding up to 98 to get there on my bicycle, just so the 30a flow is not interrupted! Further, the high speed and volume of traffic on 98 is absolutely nerve racking on a bicycle! As for flow on 30a, you know that bicycles are a very minor inconvenience compared to slow tourist traffic. I am NOT complaining about that...just saying! I ride the path and it is dangerous. There are no stats on accidents because most are not reported. Two friends have had collisions with cars on the path in the past month that I know of. In both cases it was cars crossing the path without looking! I'm saying chill. If you are in a hurry, turn north at any intersection and stomp down and consume fuel!

Oh no, we are not going down that Evil Gas Guzzling Car Drivers versus the Angelic Bikers argument again.

That has nothing to do with the points being made here.

I ride my bike, frequently ?ON THE BIKE PATH. I ride slowly, so I can both enjoy the view and for safety reasons. All I ask is for others to do the same.

I do not believe that any of the spandex clad ?serious? bikers on 30A are running errands. They are exercising. They can exercise just as easily on 83, 283, 395, Hwy98 as easily as they can on 30A.
The difference being that 30A has no shoulder, is full of tourists who aren?t paying attention, and is crossed by many side streets and intersections.

These inherent problems do not exist on the other roads mentioned.

I understand that cars are moving faster on 98, but 98 has a 3?+ bike lane along both sides for safety. And 98 is a 2 lane road so for the most part, vehicles can easily move into the other lane to pass.

It is a safety issue. Both for the bikers and for the cars/pedestrians.

Please look at Tootsie?s story ?this is not uncommon. When a vehicle (politely) tries to pass a biker on 30A there is always a potential hazard with cars turning out of side streets.

30A -No shoulder, too congested, too many side streets = a bad place to ride a street bike.

 

[scooterbug44]

I think he should get a ticket for threatening someone w/ a knife and should stick to riding on the bike path ;-)

 

[Uncle Timmy]

Timmy, Timmy, Timmy... We need to get you on a road bike on the multi-use path on 30A and see how you do. I wouldn't take the speed of the cars on 98 over the driveways crossing the multi-use path on 30A, and vice versa. IMO, death is more likely to occur from getting ran over on Hwy 98 by drivers traveling at high rates of speeds, than from bikers running into drivers who don't think to look and yield to foot, skate and bike traffic on the multi-use trails.

The safety issues are much broader than that. See Tootsie's story.

Everybody can be following the rules, and be polite and courteous when passing a biker and STILL create an enormous safety hazard.

At the present time 30A, is a dangerous place to mix cars and bikes.

 

[Beemn]

Tim; I didn't mean to offend, but it is easier for you to get to 98 by car than for me by bike. 83 has no shoulder and is treacherous to even cross by bike. I agree that the spandex crowd can be a minor annoyance, but take your own advise. Slow down and enjoy the scenery.

 

[beachmouse]

It's a different sort of cyclist you get in Ft. Walton Beach. Lots of those guys bike to jobs or the store because they can't afford a car, or can't get a driver's license anymore. Because if you've got a choice, you really don't want to bike anywhere beyond the edge of your subdivision in FWB because of the traffic there. The serious cyclists in FWB drive their bikes up to a small parking lot off of Lewis Turner, and ride the publically accessable paved roads in Eglin Reservation.

 

[scooterbug44]

On a tangent - if you're going to ride your bike after dark, please have a light and some reflectors!

With the exception of the brats who told me to shut up when I suggested it last night (their rudeness and the fact that they were zooming around after 10 pm might be an indication of their level of parenting), I'd hate to see someone get clipped because they're invisible in the dark!

 

[Uncle Timmy]

Tim; I didn't mean to offend, but it is easier for you to get to 98 by car than for me by bike. 83 has no shoulder and is treacherous to even cross by bike. I agree that the spandex crowd can be a minor annoyance, but take your own advise. Slow down and enjoy the scenery.

No offense taken.

When I am driving on 30A, I am headed to a destination on 30A. So 98 is not an option. When I am traveling beyond SoWal, of course I high tail it up to 98 to avoid the congestion.

If you knew how many friends refer to my driving as 'grandmotherly' you would laugh at the idea that I need to chill. My point is that EVERYBODY on 30A needs to chill -including the bikers. This is not the Tour de France -slow down and enjoy the scenery (on the bike path).

 

[Smiling JOe]

I do not believe that any of the spandex clad ‘serious’ bikers on 30A are running errands. They are exercising. They can exercise just as easily on 83, 283, 395, Hwy98 as easily as they can on 30A.
The difference being that 30A has no shoulder, is full of tourists who aren’t paying attention, and is crossed by many side streets and intersections.

These inherent problems do not exist on the other roads mentioned.

I understand that cars are moving faster on 98, but 98 has a 3’+ bike lane along both sides for safety. And 98 is a 2 lane road so for the most part, vehicles can easily move into the other lane to pass.

It is a safety issue. Both for the bikers and for the cars/pedestrians.

Please look at Tootsie’s story –this is not uncommon. When a vehicle (politely) tries to pass a biker on 30A there is always a potential hazard with cars turning out of side streets.

30A -No shoulder, too congested, too many side streets = a bad place to ride a street bike.

A 3' bike lane on a hwy with speed limits of 65mph, is not for safety. A divided bike path would be. That said, I like to ride on 30A because it is refreshing to see something other than pine trees on my ride. Coastal Dune Lakes and Communities become can be refreshing breaks between longer stretches. That is something that you cannot see on Hwy 98, 283, 83, 395. Not too mention that those north south roads are no more than 3 miles, and that would be a boring ride to go back and forth on. I think the real safety issue is drivers who are not focusing on driving.

If the road not having a shoulder is a problem for bicyclists, they could ride in the middle of the lane, and drive at SnowBird pace.

I notice that in one stretch of Blue Mtn, a 3' bike lane exists on the south side of the road. Maybe they just need more of those.

 

[Smiling JOe]

I think he should get a ticket for threatening someone w/ a knife and should stick to riding on the bike path ;-)

That area of Ft Walton doesn't have a bike path. As for threatening someone with a knife, he should be arrested, not ticketed.

 

[scooterbug44]

If the road not having a shoulder is a problem for bicyclists, they could ride in the middle of the lane, and drive at SnowBird pace.

I notice that in one stretch of Blue Mtn, a 3' bike lane exists on the south side of the road. Maybe they just need more of those.

Because that would be much safer than a 3' shoulder and cause less incidents!

The 3' bike lane you refer to is where the bike path runs next to the road.

I would love if the scenic corridor designation could do these things:

-improve and maintain the bike path so there aren't sand/gravel spots (I just about bite it in front of the seagrove goatfeathers even on my thick tires) or rough patches that are unfriendly to skinny tires

-add a 3' minimum shoulder on both sides of 30a for road bikers etc.

-add a dividing line (similar to a road) to improve 2 way traffic flow on the path

-require landscaping/signage/fencing etc to be set back several feet from the path to aid in visibility