GAINESVILLE, Fla. (WCJB) – In an effort to make riding a bike safer in Gainesville, city leaders are committing to redesigning roadways to improve bike lanes when it comes time to resurface or add roads.
The Gainesville City Commission approved roadway design changes to add bike lanes or adjacent bike paths on all new city streets. Existing roadways will get new bike lanes when the roads are resurfaced.
The changes only apply to roads with speed limits above 25 mph, have an average of more than 3,000 cars a day, and are wide enough to accommodate the changes.
“We’ve already started to see these improvements in the Midtown area, just north of the University of Florida campus,” said Commissioner Hayes-Santos, referring to new bike lanes added for cyclists along parts of NW 14th, 15th, 17th, and 18th streets.
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The new bike lanes will all be either separated, buffered, or protected. Separated lanes will use barriers like flexible posts between bike lanes and vehicle traffic. Buffered lanes are wider than typical bike lanes. Protected bike lanes have curbs, planters, or parking spaces between cyclists and car traffic.
“An example of that would be a buffered bike lane which has a greater separation from the roadway than simply a single white line or a protective bike lane and that’s for higher speed roadways,” said Gainesville City Planner Scott Wright.
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