Miami: Future Bike Mecca of the South?

By Melissa Hege, AICP

Ludlam Trail Grassroots to Treetops exhibit video tour from Green Mobility Network on Vimeo.

Together, the Underline, Biscayne-Line, Baywalk, Miami River Greenway, Rickenbacker Park and Ludlam Trail create the Miami Loop which has the potential to reach up to 1.5 million people. While each of these projects stands on their own, Victor Dover is investigating real opportunities to connect these proposed bike facilities. When completed the Miami Loop would create a robust greenway connecting Miami’s most congested neighborhoods to its central business district, the airport and Key Biscayne’s recreational corridor.

The State and County are doing their part too. This past December, in a more progressive approach to street design, the State Department of Transportation adopted a complete streets policy to design state roadways for everyone—bikes, pedestrians, cars, transit and users of all ages. And early last year, Miami Dade County adopted a complete streets policy in response to the USDOT’s Mayor’s Challenge for Safer People, Safer Streets. In fact, after a recent visit from Gabe Klein, former transportation director for Chicago and Washington D.C. best known for rapidly innovating Chicago’s bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure under Mayor Emmanuel, the County’s Mayor Gimenez announced that he would build a Complete Streets demonstration project to illustrate the benefits of designing streets for everyone.

The Biscayne Line, courtesy of the University of Miami School of Architecture- Wyn Bradley and Arquitectonica Geo- Jeremy Gauger and Rob Lloyd.

With additional educational outreach from the WHEELS conference, the Miami Bike Scene web resource, the Green Mobility Network advocacy group and the County’s Bike 305 program, both recreational and commuter bicyclists are following the lead of some of the most progressive biking communities in the States.

By Melissa Hege, AICP