By Mary Thurwachter - Managing Editor
If you’ve driven down A1A lately (and who hasn’t?), you have to know what a hotspot the road is for bicyclists. Who can blame them, after all? It’s a lovely drive along our postcard-pretty shoreline. But it can be a perilous trek. A year ago, for example, a cyclist was killed when a truck struck him on A1A north of Linton Boulevard.
Motorists say bicyclists block the road. Many complain about packs of bicyclists riding up to four abreast, especially on weekends.
Cyclists maintain that drivers need to recognize that they have as much right to the road as cars do.
Recognizing the commonality of the problem for all coastal communities, Highland Beach police Lt. Eric Lundberg came up with a plan that could help everyone traveling A1A. He’s starting a task force with members from Pompano Beach north to Ocean Ridge — towns that all have problems keeping cyclists, car drivers and pedestrians safe on the seaside highway.
Education will be key as the municipalities put up signs urging everyone to share the road. The signs also advise vehicles that drivers must give a 3-foot leeway to bikers and that cyclists may not ride more than two abreast.
Enforcement will be important, too, Lundberg says, but first motorists, bicyclists and pedestrians must be clear on what the laws are and what responsibilities each has.
As Lundberg says, “It’s going to be a repetitive thing,” with messages flashing alongside the road for as long as it takes.
It’s a commendable proactive step toward making the highway safer for all of us.
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