TREASURE ISLAND — It’s unusual for a proposal that at least two city commissioners feel is unnecessary to be placed on the agenda for an upcoming work session. But that’s what happened during an Oct. 18 City Commission meeting, where the idea of installing shared bicycle lanes on the Treasure Island Causeway was discussed.
After a lengthy discussion about the possibility of marking travel lanes for bicyclists on the causeway, and potentially lowering the speed limit, commissioners John Doctor and Saleene Partridge said they did not support the idea and wanted to move on. However, Mayor Tyler Payne placed the item, touted by Forward Pinellas, on a work session so absent commissioners Deborah Toth and Beth Wetzel could weigh in on the topic.
Forward Pinellas is the county’s land use and transportation planning agency. Locating bicycle lanes on the causeway is part of the Forward Pinellas Active Transportation Plan, adopted in 2020, which identifies a proposed community trail for the Treasure Island Causeway from Park Street to Gulf Boulevard. The lack of conductivity, or being able to easily travel between the Pinellas Trail and Gulf Boulevard, sparked the request to Forward Pinellas to address the issue of providing a travel lane for bicyclists on the causeway.
During the Oct. 18 meeting, Whit Blanton, executive director of Forward Pinellas, told commissioners “shared lane markings are a valid tool for promoting safety and active transportation in the corridors where you want them to be.” But he also advised commissioners that bicyclists don’t like them and the causeway may not be best suited for them.
“Shared lane markings in Pinellas County are pretty sporadic,” he said.
“I think there is a general aversion to shared lane markings, or ‘sharrows,’ from a lot of cyclists, because they feel like it puts them right in the middle of the traffic lane and if speeds are too high, or traffic’s aggressive, they don’t feel comfortable,” Blanton said.
He added that the recommendation for shared lane markings is that generally they are better suited on low speed, low volume roads, such as neighborhoods or connectors between two types of facilities or in a place where there may not be adequate right-of-way.
The causeway’s speed limit of 35 mph is “not generally recommended,” Blanton said — 25 mph or lower is typical.
“Once you get at that speed limit (35 mph) it’s better to try and find a separated facility like a bike lane or shared path or something like that,” he said. He said he would be comfortable, however, with lowering the speed limit to 30 and having shared lane markings.
Doctor said bike lanes on the causeway “has not been an issue in the 14 years that I have lived here, and I don’t see it as an issue.” He said parallel side streets provide adequate paths for cyclists.
Doctor said he would not favor lowering the speed limit from 35 mph, and noted that the drawbridge also poses a problem, with traffic backing up and cyclists in the shared lane. “Why would we want to make the change when it doesn’t seem to be a priority for the general public?” he said.
Blanton acknowledged that “what you have out there today is probably acceptable.”