Art Walk: New bike shop will feature bike lane info for Bridge of Lions Project

By Rhonda Parker

St. Augustine - VELO Fest and Pedal St. Augustine will be partnering up for Art Walk with VELO Fest tonight for AGOSA’s First Friday Art Walk.

Heather Neville and other VELO Fest members of the local safe biking organization will have information on hand about the new shared lane markings going in on the Bridge of Lions next month. There will also be information on the VELO Bike Festival being organized by the group for April.

View slideshow: TPO Bike Safety Study for St. Augustine - map shows recommended improvements

The group is being hosted tonight by the newly opened bike shop “Pedal St. Augustine”, located downtown on King Street next to the Post Office and owned by Keith Richardson, who is also owner of Coast to Coast Realty.

Neville said the VELO Fest is the signature annual event for the organization, but the VELO Community Initiative group’s real focus is in a number of different areas, with partnerships that include the Florida Department of Transportation, and the St. Johns County Economic Development Council. The group is also working with the VCB and TDC to publish a county map that will include illustrations of suggested safety improvements for roads in the county and the city from a recently published FDOT study: St. Augustine Bike Study pdf link w/ photos

Also see examiner.com article: America's Oldest City May become more bike friendly in time for 450th Birthday in 2015

The 86-page study done by Sprinkle Consulting Firm and commissioned by the FDOT-TPO includes results of public surveys – including one held earlier this year at the St. Augustine Amphitheater Farmer’s Market in which 65 residents identified hazardous areas for cyclists by placing pins on a map of the city’s roads.

Neville said the VELO Fest and will be at the next three art walks at this location with the focus of on the county map project and to promote the VELO Fest, who will be held April 13 and 14, and will feature a Friday evening Bike Parade that will begin at the city parking Garage downtown, and end at Flagler College. There will be a family-friendly-route for those with small children and bikes with training wheels, as well as the main route, which will follow Orange Street to San Marco, and up Cathedral Place to Flagler College.

Neville said roads will not be closed down for the event because the concept will be “to safely share the road” with cyclists.”

On Saturday, there are two VELO Fest planned rides in honor of Brian Wrigley, a Flagler student who was killed last year while biking in an unsolved hit-and-run. Both the 20-mile and 40-mile rides will begin at the St. Augustine Amphitheater and include a ride-by of the place on County Road 214 while Wrigley, 23, was struck.

See article from the St. Augustine Record: 2011-10-11 ghost bike serves reminder of tragedy

St. Augustine City Commissioner Nancy Sikes-Kline, who is on the board of the North Florida DOT Transportation Planning Organization said infrastructure improvements that encourage safety and awareness for motorists and cyclists, has become a passion for her as 450th celebrations approach.

“We need to start addressing ways to move people in and out of the city. Also – residents are going to want to have ways to get around town and go about their normal lives. With so many people who use bikes as their main source of transportation in the city, improving safety seems critical to me,” she said.

Sikes-Kline said the Bridge of Lions project will not interfere with traffic flow or involve construction, but will mainly be a “paint and signage” project.

“The study indicated that this was a real choke-point for cyclists. The project for the bridge is mostly about getting signs in place to remind motorists that bikes belong in the lane, and the cyclists do have a right to the lane,” she said.

Sikes-Kline said the Bridge of Lions project is a first step toward implementing the recommendations of the study and the goal of better traffic flow and increased safety for all on roads in the county and the city.

Neville said the VELO Fest group will be at the next three art walks at Pedal St. Augustine, with an upcoming focus on the county map project. She said her group is partnering with the county for the map projects in hopes of increasing awareness of bike safety. The map will include some county roads with designated bike lanes, shared lanes, signage and improvements to roads that will make biking safer.

The VELO Fest, which the organization hopes will become an annual event for St. Augustine, will be held April 13 and 14 held at Flagler College, and feature will be a two-day festival to increase awareness to cyclists and drivers alike about laws, health benefits, lower carbon footprint, and social and health benefits as a past time and sport.

“This really is a grassroots movement of the people to get involved with government and help make things happen that benefit the community,” Neville said.

Applications to participate in VELO Fest rides will be available at Pedal St. Augustine, or online at: www.active.com