Last Sunday, June 22 there was a crash during the Seminole Cyclists
Sunday ride down Lake Mary Blvd. The crash was a result of a tire
puncture caused by glass and other debris in the bike lane on Lake
Mary Blvd. One of the SCs has tried to get Seminole County to sweep
the bike lane, so far to no avail. He is now asking the SCs to
contact the County Commissioners en masse to request the road clean
up. I think this is a good thing to do and would ask you to join the
letter writing campaign to help out not only the SCs and the
Freewheelers since our rides go over those same roads but all cyclists
in Lake Mary and Sanford who use Lake Mary Blvd.
___________________________________________________________________________ _______________
Below is Kevin McGauvran's (Mac's) post on the SC Forum:
Most of us came upon the accident on Lake Mary Blvd a few Sundays ago
and saw our friends injured. We've all had our own accidents or near
misses as a direct result of debris on the roads.
On the Monday after the accident I left a message for the Seminole
County Road Inspector asking him to have Lake Mary Blvd cleaned. I
never received a return call and after riding that road three times
this last week and weekend it is apparent it was not cleaned.
I sent the following email to the Seminole County Commissioners.
Their email addresses are at the top of the email. I am told there
are over 200 of us in this club. I imagine that if they receive 200
emails we might actually get clean bike lanes, so please take a few
minutes to send them an email. You can even just copy mine if you
like.
In the mean time, please keep each other safe out there, and Karin
Chelly and Joe - we're really looking forward to seeing you out there
again.
One last thing, when someone yells out "glass", please do not slow
down. Maintain your speed and follow the wheel in front of you - he
is either avoiding the glass or picking it all up for you. We can
always repair a flat, but slowing suddenly in a paceline can have
undesirable results. If you do get a flat pull out of the paceline
before slowing and then let everyone know why you are stopping.
Hopefully some of them will stop to help you.
Ride safe,
Mac
These are the addresses of the Seminole County Commissioners:
dme...@seminolecountyfl.gov
fmacdon...@seminolecountyfl.gov
desw...@seminolecountyfl.gov
gv...@seminolecountyfl.gov
alockh...@seminolecountyfl.gov
Here is the form letter to send to them...don't forget to insert your
name below or delete the salutation if you want to remain anonymous
(hard to do if you are sending from an email address.)
___________________________________________________________________________ ________________
Dear County Commissioners,
On Sunday, June 22nd three friends, fellow cyclists and members of the
Seminole Cyclists Bicycle Club were injured while riding on Lake Mary
Blvd about 1 mile southwest of the intersection with Route 46. Their
injuries were a direct result of an enormous amount of glass on the
road in the bike lanes. They were taken to the hospital via ambulance.
The quick reactions of passing motorists enabled them to avoid an even
worse scenario.
On Monday, one of the Seminole Cyclists, Kevin McGauvran, contacted
Neal Miller via telephone. The Seminole County Public Works Web site
lists Mr. Miller as the responsible Lead Inspector for Street
Cleaning. Kevin explained the situation and told him that Lake Mary
Blvd east of 427 has far too much debris and glass in the bike lanes
in both directions and asked that he have the streets cleaned so we
can avoid any further accidents. Kevin never received a return call
from Mr. Miller and the roads were not cleaned.
We were was on this road on bikes again on Friday, Saturday, and
Sunday and sadly the debris is still there. Further, this past
Sunday we had more flats, but thankfully no injuries. We also had a
blowout on International Parkway North of Route 46 and another on
route 427 south of Country Club.
Commissioners, bike lanes provide a great service to both cyclists and
drivers of vehicles, but they also have their problems. Bike lanes
typically have curbs and therefore collect all the debris from the
roads, making them dangerous to cyclists when they are not maintained.
Cyclists always try to stay as far to the right as is safe for s to do
so - for our own safety and to respect our fellow 'gas-powered'
travelers. However, when bike lanes become littered with glass and
debris it is actually safer for us to ride in the road than it is to
keep going into and out of the bike lanes.
I know that the main roads are scheduled to be cleaned only 8 times a
year, but in light of the recent accidents and the amount of glass and
other debris on the roads, we ask that you make an exception and ask
the road crews to make a special run down Lake Mary Blvd east of 427,
International Parkway north of Route 46, and Route 427 south of Lake
Mary Blvd, paying special attention to the bike lanes. I know this is
a lot to ask, but it would go a long way to keeping your Seminole
County residents safe.
Thank you,
Your Name Goes Here
___________________________________________________________________________ ________
Please help out if you can even if you are not a Seminole County
resident.
Thanks,
Tom
