It is with great sadness that I must report that Aaron Cohen has passed away from injuries he sustained yesterday morning when he was stuck from behind by Michele Treverso while driving a black Honda Civic. The driver fled the scene and his car was later found with severe damage on Key Biscayne.
This incident did not have to happen, but the County Public Works Department continues to turn a blind eye to the poorly designed Rickenbacker Causeway. Incidents like this will continue to transpire unless the CPWD decides to proactively make some fundamental design changes to the Rickenbacker Causeway to ensure that cyclists can ride safely. Since 2006 we have averaged a death every 2 years on the Rickenbacker and numerous other serious injuries have occurred.
Sadly, the CPWD has not made any significant safety improvements to the Rickenbacker Causeway since Christophe Le Canne was killed on Bear Cut Bridge two years ago. Our elected officials essentially gave the cycling community lip service and told us changes would come. It hasn’t. All we got was some increased police enforcement for about three weeks after Le Canne’s death. POLICE ENFORCEMENT WILL NOT WORK IN THE LONG-TERM; WE NEED PROPERLY DESIGNED STREETS THAT DISCOURAGE SPEEDING. As a community, we cannot tolerate an unprotected bike lane adjacent to a highway while cars whiz by in excess of 65 mph. This is South Florida’s most popular cycling destination and it is simply unacceptable that we put up with this from the County.
It’s time for the County to stop playing games with people’s lives and start proactively implementing a county-wide complete streets policy. This policy should begin with the Rickenbacker Causeway.
Below are the Rickenbacker Causeway recommendations that were made with Transit Miami two years ago that have apparently fallen on deaf ears. Not one of these recommendations was implemented by the County Public Works Department.
Short Term Goals for the Rickenbacker Causeway
- Enforcement of the 45 mph speed limit*
- Reduce speed limit to 35 mph
- Close the right lane of traffic in both directions on Saturday and Sunday mornings from 6:00 am to 10:00am.
- Better signage
- Motorist and bicyclist education campaign
Long Term Goals for the Rickenbacker Causeway
- A major capital improvements project needs to happen and all users must be considered. Below are a few of the major improvements that need to occur:
- Paint bicycle lanes green (see below: intersections should include peg-a-traking and Chevron arrows)
- Create a 3 foot unprotected buffer between the roadway and the bicycle lane
- Major road diet. Narrowing of traffic lanes to discourage speeding (11 foot lane)
- Proper crosswalks, with stop lights, that can be activated by pedestrians.(see below: off-setting crosswalks)
- A separate path for pedestrians (pedestrians and bicyclist should not coexist)
- Consider physical separation as a feature in dangerous areas such as bridges and marked buffers along trajectory of bike lane
- Motorist and bicyclist education campaign
*Read why enforcement is not a viable long-term solution by clicking here.
The cycling community is organizing a memorial ride for Aaron Cohen on Saturday morning (2/18). Details to follow…