May 29, 2007

 

Ms. Judie Zimomra

City Manager, City of Sanibel

800 Dunlop Rd.

Sanibel, FL 33957

 

Dear Ms. Zimomra:

 

The purpose of this letter is to provide recommendations as to shared use path safety improvement projects for the City’s consideration for inclusion in the upcoming City budget for FY08.

 

As you know, the Sanibel Bicycle Club, Inc. has over 260 members, many of whom are avid users of the City’s system of Shared Use Paths.  Our members are not only familiar with the paths, but are obviously very interested in ensuring that the paths are as safe as possible.

 

Pending 2006-7 Projects:

We are assuming that the projects listed below are either underway or sufficiently in progress such that their ultimate completion is not at issue; therefore, we have not included them in the list of recommended projects:

·               Periwinkle Way path relocation to create separation from the roadway between Sanibel Steakhouse and just past Casa Ybel.

·               Rabbit Road path reconstruction (the Club believes the width of this path should be 8 feet).

·               Periwinkle Way path improvements between Meridian and Dunlop.

·               Casa Ybel path widening (to 8 feet) from Periwinkle Way south to the path bridge.

 

If any of these current year projects are not initiated this year or if not all the funds appropriated are spent, the Club recommends these funds be carried forward into next year to ensure completion.

 

Recommended Path Safety Projects for 2007-8 (in order of priority):

  1. Additional Periwinkle Way Path Separation – With completion of this year’s projects, the most serious problems along Periwinkle will have been addressed. However, there are a few remaining areas where the path is contiguous to the roadway and delineators are in place.  We believe improving these areas should be the City’s top priority.  Of particular importance is the area around Huxter’s Market where a fatal bicycle accident occurred several years ago.
  2. Tarpon Bay (North) from Periwinkle to San-Cap Road – Delineators have been installed as a temporary measure but the ultimate solution is to separate the path from the roadway.  The rumble strips, while helpful in keeping cars off the path, are potentially harmful to skaters and bikers who fail to notice them and should be removed. The path, which is currently 6 feet, should be widened to 10 feet.
  3. Algiers Path Widening and Improvement Between Middle Gulf and Case Ybel – Originally designed as a quiet detour off the main path, this section now gets a significant amount of traffic. The path is too narrow (less than 6 feet in most places) in light of the curves, dangerous sand sections and reduced visibility making it extremely hazardous in several areas when opposing path traffic is encountered.
  4. Tarpon Bay (South) from Periwinkle to West Gulf – This path has extremely high volume and between the parking area and West Gulf, it has a complicated mix of users.  The entire path should be widened and the section south of the parking area should be at least ten feet in width because of the huge number of beachgoers. (maybe even a separate walking path for beachgoers). Currently, the path is 6 feet or less from the beach parking lot to Periwinkle, and the section from the parking lot to West Gulf is approximately 8 feet.  In the User Survey (page 14 of the Draft Sprinkle report), this was the most heavily used path/intersection in which users were counted.

 

Although most of the concerns expressed above relate to path width, other factors should be considered.  Restricted visibility caused by encroaching vegetation is also a concern. In addition, curbing in certain areas may present a danger to path users.  Curbing should be analyzed to ensure that the physical safety of path users is not sacrificed for cosmetic, traffic or landscaping purposes.  Vegetation and curbing are not high-cost issues and we will provide a detailed analysis of these problems in the near future.

 

We hope that you will find our suggestions helpful.  As always, we remain available to you or your staff to discuss any of these issues.

 

Sincerely yours,

 

 

 

Patti Sousa

President

 

cc:        Members of City Council of the City of Sanibel

            Gates Castle, Public Works Director

            Robert Duffy, Planning Director