Smart, economically ambitious cities keep on the lookout for ways to attract more talented residents and businesses to employ and serve them. They’ve taken to heart advice from urban theorist Richard Florida to cultivate the “creative class.”
Orlando has made significant strides in this area since Mayor Buddy Dyer took office in 2003. Its new or upgraded venues are a shining example. SunRail is another. The downtown campus for the University of Central Florida could be the next major milestone.
The City Beautiful also has been working to make itself friendlier for bicyclists. So have communities in Seminole and Lake counties. This is another wise public policy. As urbanist Florida wrote five years ago in The Atlantic, “A nationwide analysis shows that towns where people bike to work are richer, fitter and more successful in many other ways.”
But Orlando has yet to take advantage of one of the most easily available improvements for bicyclists downtown: opening to bikes more than six miles of dedicated lanes used by the free bus service Lymmo. Dyer’s administration has deferred to Lymmo’s operator, Lynx, which doesn’t want to share its lanes with bikes.
A Lynx spokesman told Sentinel reporter Kevin Spear that the bus lanes and their intersection signals weren’t designed for bikes, and aren’t safe for them. But Lymmo buses come along every five minutes at most, and their drivers are professionals. It’s hard to believe that the alternatives for bicyclists heading downtown — sidewalks that might be crowded with pedestrians, or streets teeming with cars and, yes, buses — are safer.
Another excuse offered by Lynx — that the Federal Transit Administration intended the lanes to be used exclusively by buses — turned out not to be quite accurate. An FTA official told Spear that local leaders can choose to open the lanes to bikes.
Spear found that many other cities allow bikes in bus lanes, including Austin, Texas — a high-tech mecca and frequent aspirational model for Orlando. In Florida, Jacksonville is among cities that have opened their bus lanes to bikes.
Spear said several local cycling advocates want Orlando to consider the idea of bikes in bus lanes, including former Orange County Mayor Linda Chapin, founder of Bike/Walk Central Florida. Other supporters include Harry Barley, director of MetroPlan Orlando, and Aaron Powell, founder of Orlando Bike Coalition.
Again, there’s good reason for local leaders to be enthusiastic about this prospect. A 2012 report from the League of American Bicyclists and the Alliance for Biking and Walking found that cities that have made bike-friendly improvements have enjoyed significant economic benefits. They attract more businesses, active residents and tourists. Their downtowns are more vibrant. Their home values tend to be higher.
Orlando, despite its progress in recent years, has farther to pedal. In September, Orlando didn’t crack Bicycling Magazine’s 2016 list of the top 50 cities for bikes. Other Florida cities did: Gainesville, at 29; Tallahassee, 38; Miami, 40; and Tampa, 45.
Dyer told us he is open to “finding a way” to allow bikes in bus lanes, and officials in his administration are now discussing the “complexities” with Lynx. This is not mission impossible. The design of the signals can be changed if necessary. Rules for bicyclists can be established and enforced. Cities where buses and bikes share lanes can suggest ways of surmounting any other obstacles.
Lynx officials shouldn’t be in a position to veto bikes in bus lanes. If they don’t want to find the way, it’ll be up to the mayor to show them.
The Bottom Line
?Orlando’s six-plus miles of dedicated bus lanes for Lymmo should be opened to bicyclists.
?Bike-friendly cities attract more talented residents and top employers.
