4/24/2010
9:15-11:30
34 Miles
This morning a female cyclist rear-ended a Miami-Dade Transit bus on the Rickenbacker Causeway. The cyclist suffered minor injuries and was not taken to the hospital. I don’t have all the details of the accident, but this much I do know: the cyclist was in the bike lane and she rear-ended the bus that was parked in the bike lane/bus stop/shoulder.
This accident highlights another major and possibly deadly design flaw on the Rickenbacker Causeway. In many instances when a bus pulls over to pick up or drop off passengers, the bus tends obstruct the bike lane. When this occurs, there is major conflict between the cyclist and the bus. Cyclists are either forced to stop short, or they are forced to enter the roadway in order to overtake the bus. This scenario is very dangerous for cyclists as they must enter the roadway were most cars are traveling between 40-50mph. Cyclists will eventually come out on the losing end of this situation.
A conflict area is created when buses and cars park in the bike lane. Cyclists are forced into the roadway.
Ideally the bike lane should not be used as a bus stop and shoulder. Below is an example of a bike lane that is physically separated from the bus stop. The roadway on the Rickenbacker Causeway needs a similar treatment. Today’s accident followed an earlier incident in which a bus overtook two cyclists only to cut them off as the bus partially obstructed the bike lane in order to pick up passengers.
Source: safecycling.org
I also witnessed:
- Several hundred cyclists enjoying the morning
- Hundred of runners and walkers exercising
- A small army from the Miami-Dade Police Department handing out speeding tickets
- Most cars traveling between 40-50 mph
- At least 5 cars traveling in excess of 65 mph on the William Powell Bridge and Bear Cut Bridge. (Speed limit is virtually unenforceable on the bridges)
- One decoy police car
- Half dozen runners running in the bike lane
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