Longtime cyclist Erik Vasquez, 52, recalls riding his bike on the street in Wynwood about eight years ago when a driver became aggressive and forced him off the road.
“He started screaming slurs at me, said I didn’t belong on the road,” Vasquez recalls. “He threw his car at me and I crashed. I ended up walking 23 miles home with a flat tire.”
Miami City Commissioners understand the plight of Vasquez and thousands of others who traverse the city on two wheels. That’s why they adopted a Bike Master Plan on May 28, the major planning update of its type in 16 years. The plan focuses on 11 priority projects that advocates want finished by 2031. Most are intended to bridge gaps in Miami’s existing network.
Among the priority projects are:
- The Miami River Greenway, a trail that starts at Bayfront Park and ends at Northwest 24th Avenue.
- Northwest 29th Street bike lane: Northwest Seventh Avenue to Northeast Fourth Avenue.
- Southwest 16th Street bike lane: Southwest 27th Avenue to Southwest First Avenue.
“The city has only gotten more populated,” District 4 Commissioner Ralph Rosado’s Director of Communications Jennifer Torna said. “With rising population, we need a real solution for how to facilitate alternative transportation. More cars and congestion is not the solution; the Bike Master Plan is a good first step.”
Transit Alliance Miami estimates that in Miami-Dade County, about 40% of daily trips are less than three miles. The group says that more of those trips could be traveled by bike if there were safer, better-connected routes.
The city’s plan is part of a larger countywide push to increase safety for cyclists and pedestrians. According to a report from the Miami-Dade Transportation Planning Organization, 67% of all cyclists feel unsafe riding on the streets, and they recommend hundreds of miles of protected or operated biking/pedestrian facilities.
Ghost bikes, the white bicycles used as memorials for deceased cyclists, continue to be stark reminders of the dangers surrounding riding a bike on city streets.
Adding bike lanes alone will not be enough to end this danger. The city must still raise funds, build projects and establish a network that lets riders move without being pushed back into traffic.
In 2009, Miami’s first Bicycle Master Plan was approved. Back then, the city had only 17 miles of bikeways, about 1.6% of its total street network. Since then, various bicycle infrastructure has been added to the area including sections of the Downtown Mobility Network, a micro mobility infrastructure project in Downtown Miami and costs about $2 million, along with links to The Underline.
The approval of the new Bicycle Master Plan will provide Miami with a defined path to seek state and federal funding for future bicycle projects. The difficult question is whether such projects will link effectively to create a network that people can use.
Kurt Kaminer, a University of Miami researcher and long-time transportation advocate, believes the plan will improve Miami’s bike infrastructure but will not entirely connect the city anytime soon.
“The Bike Master Plan will get some of a network in the ground, but it will never totally, at least not within the next 10 years, connect the whole city,” Kaminer said.
Infrastructure projects can take years to complete, according to Kaminer, since cities require funds, public support and political will.
Transit Alliance Miami urged officials to identify specific projects rather than approving another broad plan with no concrete goals. Cathy Dos Santos, the group’s executive director, said the ideas prioritize linking existing infrastructure and enhancing access between neighborhoods.
But adoption was only the first step.
Dos Santos said locals should closely monitor the city’s budget, grant announcements, and construction dates to see whether the projects go beyond the planning stage.
Some projects may offer an early test. Dos Santos mentioned the Miami River Greenway, which is currently on the city’s work plan and is expected to begin construction within the next year.
“We must keep an eye on what is proposed in the 2026-2027 budget, as well as announcements about the city winning funding awards from the state and federal governments to build these projects,” Dos Santos said.
Vasquez, the rider who was run off the road, calls riding on Biscayne Boulevard “Armageddon” and recently decided he would stick strictly to mountain bike parks. To him, safety remains the biggest issue for cyclists, even with the current and future bike lanes.
“There’s no respect for cyclists,” he said.
