I recently became an avid biker after a church friend gave me a bike. I used to bike everywhere on campus and in town when I was a University of Florida student in the 1970s. Some streets around town don’t even have a bike lane.
Bicyclists are forced to use the sidewalk, which should be reserved for pedestrians. Sometimes if we have to use the sidewalk, there are tree branches blocking our path and debris all over the sidewalk.
The city and property owners have mutual responsibility to keep the sidewalks clear for safe public use.
Also, bikers and motorists need to be aware of each other and coexist better, for everyone’s safety.
Finally, I ask the city to please check the operation of the buttons designed to give bikers and pedestrians safe crossing of streets. Sometimes I wait five minutes to cross a street. Thank you to RTS for providing bike racks on its buses.
This letter to the editor ran on page 7 on 10/22/2013 under the headline "Better resources for cyclists"
