Presentation given on June 10, 2015 at the Indian River County Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) meeting, where League of American Bicyclists Vice President Bill Nesper presented the county's Bicycle Friendly Community (bronze) award via Skype.

1. Indian River County:
A Bicycle Friendly Community?

2. How Does the League of American Bicyclists (LAB)
Determine “Bicycle Friendliness”?
★ The Five “Es”
✴ Engineering - Quantity and Quality of Bicycle Facilities
✴ Evaluation & Planning - Proactive Bicycle Facility
Planning
✴ Education - Quantity and Quality of Community Safety
Education
✴ Encouragement - Encouraging People to Ride Bicycles
✴ Enforcement - Law Enforcement Support for Safe
Cycling

3. Why is it Important to Be a
Bicycle Friendly Community?
★ Make roads safer for everyone and reduce injuries/
fatalities due to bike crashes
★ Provide a way for people who do not have access
to a car to get to work, school and stores
★ Encourage a healthy lifestyle and reduce obesity
★ Reduce traffic congestion and free up parking
spaces
★ Make our community an even better place to live

4. BFCs in Florida (As of Yesterday)
★ Diamond - None
★ Platinum - None
★ Gold - None
★ Silver
✴ Sanibel
✴ Venice
✴ Gainesville
✴ The Villages
★ Bronze - 11 Communities

5. What Grade Would You Give IRC on
Bicycle Friendliness?
A+, A, A-, B, C or D?

6. Historical Strengths and Weaknesses
★ Strengths
✴ Great support from FDOT - a nationwide leader in
its commitment to bicycle safety
✴ The MPO staff has implemented a world class
bicycle safety education program for children
✴ Some great plans have been developed (e.g., the
Greenway Plans)
✴ Bike racks on Go Line

7. Historical Strengths and Weaknesses
★ Weaknesses
✴ As of today, there are only 1.4 miles of designated
bike lanes (College Lane) on County roads (but
there are bike lanes on FDOT and City roads)
✴ Very little effort to encourage people to ride bicycles
✴ Very little safety education for adults
✴ Other than the Lagoon Greenway, virtually no multi-
use trails (although the Trans Florida Central
Railroad Trail has great potential)

8. Recent Accomplishments
★ Local bicycle club formed and grew to over 200 paid
members, offering 5 to 6 group rides weekly and
regular special events such as the New Rider Rides
and the Downtown Friday Fun Rides
★ Six community volunteers and one County employee
became credentialed cycling safety instructors (LCIs)
★ Community volunteers organized a bike festival (the
Hibiscus Ride) that attracted over 130 participants
with no crashes
★ Community members provided a set of written
recommendations for improving cycling safety as part
of the Bike/Ped Plan update

9. Recent Accomplishments (cont’d)
★ Two local businesses were designated as Bicycle
Friendly Businesses by the LAB
• Orchid Island Bikes & Kayaks (Gold)
• Sanford Law Firm (Bronze)
★ Community volunteers (with MPO staff support)
periodically staff a cycling safety booth at Downtown
Friday

10. Do We Truly Want to Be a Bicycle
Friendly Community?

11. Becoming a Bicycle Friendly
Community Will Require a Commitment
Within County Government Beyond the
MPO Staff

12. Recommendations

13. Recommendation #1:
Designate a High Level Person Within
County Government to Oversee the Bicycle
Friendly Initiative
★ Should be someone with the authority to effect change
★ Should be someone who will be proactive
★ Ideally, should be someone who rides a bicycle and
has a passion for making the community bicycle
friendly

14. Recommendation #2:
Sign and Designate Bike Lanes on all County Roads
with Shoulders that Could be Converted to Bike Lanes

15. Recommendation #2:
Sign and Designate all County Roads with
Shoulders that Could Qualify as Bike Lanes
★ Why?
• Will increase the likelihood that people on bicycles will
stay in the bike lane (as required under FL law)
• Will increase the likelihood that people on bicycles will
ride with the flow of traffic (as required under FL law)
• Will help alert motorists bicycles are permitted on the
road and may be present
• Will help motorists and people on bicycles understand
how to handle turns
• Will help people on bicycles be more comfortable

16. Recommendation #3:
Amend the IRC Code to Require That All
New and Repaved County Roads Be Built
to the Then Current FDOT Standards
★ Why?
• FDOT has extensive resources to develop state
of the art bike facility standards, no need for
IRC to “reinvent the wheel” especially given the
County’s limited resources.
• Currently, with respect to bike facilities in IRC,
most County roads are inferior to FDOT roads
(and to some COVB roads).

17. Recommendation #3:
Amend IRC Code to Adopt FDOT Standards
Example IRC Road - Indian River Boulevard (looking north
approaching 41st Street)

18. Recommendation #3:
Amend IRC Code to Adopt FDOT Standards
Example IRC Road - Indian River Boulevard (looking south
approaching 41st Street)

19. Recommendation #3:
Amend IRC Code to Adopt FDOT Standards
What should IRB (and 53rd St, 66 Ave, etc) look like?
Source: Federal
Highway
Administration -
Manual on Uniform
Traffic Control
Devices

20. Recommendation #3:
Amend IRC Code to Adopt FDOT Standards
“I just came back from a week in Vero Beach and
was reminded again about how dangerous the two
intersections on [the northern section] of Indian
River Boulevard are. I wrote a letter to both the
County Engineer and County Director of Public
Works when that section of IRB was about to be
repaved a few years ago. As an architect and
planner, I pointed out the obvious hazards and
asked that they incorporate shoulders, the cost of
which would have been minimal.”
Bob Joy, who owns a home in Grand
Harbor and frequently rides on Indian
River Boulevard

21. Recommendation #3:
Amend IRC Code to Adopt FDOT Standards
• What does the current code say?
(1) Locations. All projects shall install bikeways on all
arterial and collector routes as specified in the
adopted Indian River County Bikeway and Sidewalk
Plan. . . .
(2) Specifications. Bikeways shall conform to the
standards as stated in the county adopted "Bikeway
and Sidewalk Plan."
. . .
Section 952.15 (Bikeway system)

22. Recommendation #3:
Amend IRC Code to Adopt FDOT Standards
• Code terminology is out of date anyway - there is no
“Bikeway and Sidewalk Plan”

23. Recommendation #3:
Amend IRC Code to Adopt FDOT Standards
• A model may be Section 914.15(5) of the IRC Code which
provides that . . .
Bikeways. The project developer shall be responsible
for the provision of a bikeway(s) along the project site's
frontage on all rights-of-way or easements as
designated in the Indian River County Comprehensive
Bikeway and Sidewalk Plan.
(a) Specifications. All bikeways shall be constructed
in accordance with specifications found in the
Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT)
Bicycle Facilities Planning and Design Manual
(most recent edition) . . . .(emphasis added)

24. Recommendation #4:
Partner with the Indian River Farms Water Control District
to Create a Countywide Network of Paved Multi-use Paths
Running Along Side the Existing Drainage Canal Network
★ Why?
✴ IRC currently lacks “connectivity” for people riding bicycles -
i.e., it is often difficult to safely travel the entire route to a
particular destination
✴ A network of off-road bike paths would reduce bike traffic on
roadways
✴ Many people who ride bikes have a strong preference for
riding on bike paths rather than the road
✴ A network of bike paths would provide a significant
recreational opportunity for local residents, including families
✴ A network of bike paths would provide a significant tourist
draw

25. Recommendation #4:
Establish Network of Paved Multi-use Paths
★ Example of Problem - Central county east-west
connectivity - Rt 60 Route

26. Recommendation #4:
Establish Network of Paved Multi-use Paths
★ Example of Opportunity - Central county east-west
connectivity - Central Canal Route

27. Recommendation #4:
Establish Network of Paved Multi-use Paths
http://www.dep.state.fl.us/parks/files/scorp/2015_promo.pdf

28. Recommendation #4:
Establish Network of Paved Multi-use Paths
★ How significant is this opportunity?
✴ If we developed a full network of paths along all
major canals:
“Indian River County would put
Portland to shame."
Recent Comment by Bill Nesper, VP, Programs,
League of American Bicyclists, referring to
Portland, Oregon, considered by many to be
America's current "bicycle capital."

29. Thank you for your continued
support!