Critical Mass ride this weekend!
From UrbanJacksonville:
This Saturday bikers from all over the city will meet for a critical mass bike ride through the urban core. If you want to ride, meet at Noon in the parking lot across from the Cummer Art Gallery in 5-points. The ride will take us through Riverside, into San Marco with a pit stop at Take me to the River. The ride will end at Memorial Park.
Sweet! I'm going to point this out today at the Mayor's Council on Fitness and Well Being. Bike Jacksonville was terrific 4 (or 5?) years ago, but the organizers have been unable to pull it together again since. So what happens? People want things like this so they organize themselves through grassroots efforts.
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While I don't agree with some of the defiant undertones of the event as they relate to traffic laws, I have to admit it's not like drivers of motor vehicles do a great job obeying traffic laws. Turning right on red comes screaming into my head. I can't count the number of times I have come close to being wiped out by someone who whipped around a corner without stopping at a right light or stop sign first is really disturbing (that's a rant for another post). The February 7th front page of the FTU really brought to light how dangerous it is to be a cyclist or pedestrian in Jacksonville. The number of fatal crashes involving bikes has gone from 1 in 2003, to 6 in 2004 and 3 in 2005. But wait, there's more. The number of pedestrians killed has gone from 18 in 2003, to 32 in 2004 and 38 in 2005. The one that really punched me in the stomach was Jana Werson. Running down the sidewalk alongside Sunbeam Road, she was killed by a driver who swerved to avoid another car. Our city talks a mean game about wanting healthy, fit citizens, but until they can protect the ones that are actually exercising, then it's nothing but talk.
</SOAPBOX>
"We aren't blocking traffic; we are traffic."