- April 24, 2024
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Bike repair stations have been installed at Cassen Park and Fortunato Park. Photo by Wayne Grant
The proposed Bike Plan would result in a network of paths. Courtesy photo
The City Commission will consider a proposed Bike Plan that has been developed by the Planning Department. The hearing is tentatively set for the Nov. 1 agenda.
Planning Director Rick Goss has met with neighborhoods that would be affected by bike paths as well as the Quality of Life Board and Public Works Advisory Board in drafting a plan that proposes 15 miles of multi-use paths with a total estimated cost of between $4.3 and $5.7 million.
If the City Commission approves the Bike Plan, it does not mean construction would start, but having a plan makes it easier to get grants from government agencies.
“We’ve asked for grants before, and they asked us if we had a plan,” Goss told the Planning Board at a meeting where they recommended approval.
Goss said there would be a significant health benefit in having bike paths, due to the fact that Ormond Beach has a higher per capita bike crash rate than other city in Florida. The predominant type of crash is a “right-angle” type of crash where a car or bicycle does not yield a right of way at an intersection. Accident reports indicate that wrong-way riding and sidewalk riding are contributing factors, because they put the bicycle where the driver does not expect them.
The Bike Plan, which grew out of a 2015 City Commission strategic planning workshop, would include paths for advanced riders who ride on the street, adults who prefer designated bike lanes or wide shoulders and families and children that use neighborhood streets to get to parks or multi-use paths.
The paths in the proposed plan would include new multi-use trails and bike lanes in roads to connect various points in the city. If the Bike Plan is in the Nov. 1 City Commission agenda, the entire Bike Plan will be included in the agenda packet, available on ormondbeach.org. Several plans are outlined, but final design of any bike plan will depend on neighborhood meetings.
“We won’t know the alignment until the design phase,” Goss said.
One planned trail has raised concerns of residents who don’t want it crossing behind their houses. Sean Daly, of Northside Drive, expressed concerned at the Planning Board meeting about a planned bike path that goes behind the Northbrook subdivision. He said he is concerned about the disruption of wildlife and the introduction of people into the neighborhood who might do things that would be inappropriate in public. He said the residents don’t need the path because they ride on the sidewalks.
Goss said there will be neighborhood meetings before any plans are finalized.
