For the first time in nearly a century, bicycles are now allowed on most of St. Augustine’s sidewalks.
The City Commission approved the change Monday night.
Cycling advocate Heather Neville said the problem was especially apparent during special events, like when Mumford and Sons played on the streets of St Augustine in 2013.
“And one of our biggest challenges was: we’re closing the streets down to cars and we have this ordinance on the books that basically makes it illegal to ride your bicycle.”
Neville said not all sidewalks will be open to cyclists, such as the like pedestrian-only St. George Street, or the sidewalks that crisscross the Plaza and those in front of the marina.
“So it will be specifically cited that those are areas that are not allowed. But you can ride on the sea wall, you can ride through town. I think people will still be riding on the road because the sidewalks do have humans on them,” said Neville.
She said after the victory in City Council, activists are still pushing for more places to safely park their bikes.
As for what to do about motorized bikes and scooters, Neville said that’s a topic for future discussion.
Contact reporter Cyd Hoskinson at choskinson@wjct.org, 904-358-6351 and on Twitter at @cydwjctnews.
