MIAMI (WSVN) - Cyclists and leaders are calling for change days after a couple was suddenly struck and killed while riding their bicycles on the Rickenbacker Causeway.
At Tuesday’s Miami-Dade County Commission meeting, commissioners discussed solutions to make the streets safer for pedestrians and cyclists. Part of the discussions included short-term measures in order to make sure deaths like this do not happen again.
“I am directing our department immediately to take urgent measures,” said Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava.
Levine Cava mentioned she is putting aside $250,000 to take immediate action, and they are going to further discuss more ways to make sure bicyclists stay safe.
“I have in my authority up to $250,000 that we will be using for short-term safety measures for bicyclist safety enhancement measures on the Rickenbacker exactly at the places that are most vulnerable,” said Levine Cava.
City of Miami Police said Yaudys Vera and Ogniana Reyes were killed when an SUV slammed into them as they were riding in the designated bike lane, Sunday afternoon.
Several people spoke at the meeting to bring awareness to pedestrians and bicyclists and to express their concerns in light of the tragedy.
“It’s not safety training to tell people to stay in the bike lane, it’s fixing the design,” said a member of the community.
Some solutions presented at the meeting were barricades that separate the drivers and bicyclists. Other solutions included temporary barricades.
“Let’s put barricades, let’s cut through the red tape, let’s get some paint out there, and let’s fix it,” said another member.
“It’s unfortunate that it takes the deaths of our two fellow residents before action can really be sparked again,” said Mark Merwitzer with the nonprofit Transit Alliance. “We need to have the actual infrastructure that protects our cyclists rather than just paints on the road.”
Commissioners looked at a plan to overhaul the Rickenbacker Causeway some time ago. Members of the cycling community urged them to move forward, but that did not happen.
“Many of us advocates spoke in a public meeting in regards to the request for a proposal for improvements for the Rickenbacker Causeway, and we said, ‘Don’t kill the proposal because you will see more deaths if you delay this,'” said Dr. Mickey Witte, a bike safety advocate. “Here we are less than six months later, and we have two more deaths on our hands on this causeway that needs to be made safer.”
Commissioners agreed they need to find long-term solutions, but that will take time and lots of money. In the meantime, Levine Cava said, residents should expect to see short-term solutions in place soon.
“We’re in this together. We all know that this has to be addressed,” she said. “So very tragic that yet another senseless, needless deaths bring us to this conversation.”
Safety advocates said the only solution on the Rickenbacker Causeway is a barrier between the bike lane and the automobiles.
This is an issue leaders plan to discuss at the upcoming transportation committee taking place in June.
Copyright 2024 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.