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BAYSHORE BOULEVARD — For decades, Bayshore Boulevard has welcomed runners and walkers with sweeping views of the sea and 4.5 miles of straight-line sidewalk.
But avid bicyclists have long felt like unwelcome guests on Bayshore, which had just one bike lane going north on the scenic road. Southbound, cyclists often took to the sidewalk, preferring to dodge runners, dog walkers, baby strollers and in-line skaters rather than cars.
"Hate to say it, I ride on the sidewalk more times than not because of safety," said Frank Kane, who lives near Bayshore and owns Flying Fish Bikes.
Transportation officials hope that changes now that the city has completed the first phase of a Bayshore project that added 4-foot bike lanes on both sides of the boulevard at its northern end, from Platt Street to Rome Avenue.
"I would say it's one of the most important things we've had in a long time," said Taylor Norton, 33, a South Tampa bicyclist and bike shop employee.
When it comes to walking, running or biking, Tampa and Tampa Bay aren't the most inviting locales. Forbes.com ranked the Tampa Bay area last in 2010 among 60 metropolitan areas in commuting, which factored in bicyclists. The advocacy group Transportation for America ranked Tampa Bay the nation's second-most-dangerous area for pedestrians last summer. Six bicyclists were killed in Hillsborough County last year, down from an unusually high 11 killed in 2010.
For the full article, visit the Tampa Bay Times.
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