It’s been nearly 6 months since FDOT completed its auto-centric resurfacing project on Coral Way. Our readers may recall that I did a thorough analysis on the poor quality of the bike lanes which were striped on Coral Way. We were told that FDOT would go back and re-stripe the bike lanes correctly as they should have done in the first place. Well, it’s been 6 months and we’re still waiting…
Yesterday I was driving down this section of roadway and noticed all the cars overtaking me as they cruised in excess of 50 mph. This roadway has 14ft lanes which only encourages cars to speed. As I’m driving down the street I noticed a woman pushing her husband in a wheel chair while trying to cross Coral Way in front of the St. Sophia Church on Coral Way and SW 24th Road. Unfortunately, this vulnerable couple doesn’t have safe options to cross Coral Way. The closest crosswalk to them is one block away on SW 25th Street. The next closest crosswalk is 10 blocks away on SW 15th Street. To make matter worse, the crosswalk on SW 15th Street is on a treacherous curve, making it very dangerous for even a healthy individual like myself to cross.
A man being pushed in a wheelchair while trying to cross Coral Way on SW 24th Road
This signature FDOT project is just another fine example of their auto-centric mantra. The time is now to begin designing complete streets for all users.
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The truth is I would never bike on Coral Way, as it’s just too narrow and the traffic is dense and fast, no matter that they have designated part of the rode as a bike path. It is a lot easier to map out a route that is safe, quiet and a whole lot more pleasant. From downtown you can take SW 4th Avenue heading towards the Gables, then enjoy a great ride with a couple of zig zags staying on SW 20th or 21st Street, just north of Coral Way. I’ve even done it at night, and it’s great, all the way till you cross Douglas into the center of the Gables at least. Google Earth and Mapquest help you really view the streets and see potential bike ostacles.
Robert,
Coral Way would be a gem for cyling if the design speed of the road were closer to 35 mph. This is not the case unfortunately. I choose to ride safer alternative routes too.
[…] is finalizing/fixing their portion of Coral Way. Bike lanes were striped incorrectly, leading to confusion among road users of the 2 and 4-wheel varieties so FDOT is blocking out the […]