In-Line Skaters in Bike Lanes
Question
Christopher asked: I inline skate at an average speed of 13-15 mph in the bike lane on my local South Florida streets. While 99% of the cyclists are very positive; with words of encouragement, allowing me to draft when I crank up to 16-18 mph and generally courteous, there are some that are negative with “Get out of the bike lane” and much worse.
Answer
Bicycle lanes are part of the roadway designated for preferential use by bicyclists.
Florida Department of Transportation Plans Preparation Manual
Bicycle Lane – A bicycle lane (bike lane) is a portion of the roadway (either with curb and gutter or a flush shoulder) which has been designated by striping, special pavement markings, and signing for the preferential use by bicyclists.
Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices
Bicycle Lane – A portion of a roadway that has been designated for preferential or exclusive use by bicyclists by pavement markings and, if used, signs.
Preferential Lane – A highway lane reserved for the exclusive use of one or more specific types of vehicles or vehicles with at least a specific number of occupants.
Persons on roller skates are not permitted on the roadway, whether in the bike lane or not.
s. 316.2065 – Bicycle Regulations
(12) No person upon roller skates, or riding in or by means of any coaster, toy vehicle, or similar device, may go upon any roadway except while crossing a street on a crosswalk.
Although in-line skates are certainly serious exercise equipment these days, the statutes do not consider that.
Highway facilities are not designed for optimum use by all users, and some communities try to accommodate in-line skaters by not strictly enforcing this provision. Some strictly enforce that sub-paragraph. You should check with your local police department or sheriff’s office to determine the policy in your community.
i was searching for in line skate paths in florida since i was thinking of visiting with my skaes. it is winter here in massachusetts and can not inline any more in BOSTON (where i skate the streets every sunday) owing to snow salt and ice. i guess with your rather limited and rude law i will not be coming to Florida to spend my MONEY!!! how rude.
Nothing stopping you from inline skating on sidewalks, bike PATHS, in parks…
Just about anywhere BUT the street..
Trust me, you wouldn’t want to skate in the bike LANES here, it would be too dangerous…
Roller skates and Inline skates are not the same in the FL statues. Having lived here for 15 years I have found several places to enjoy the feel of beach and rollerblading. Nothing like it except for running on the beach while a hurricane approaches. I have been confronted by cyclists. I am also a cyclist so I don’t get it. I wonder if they pay the same taxes I do? Why do they feel like they can run over me and harass me? Do they really belong here?
I have been inline skating on Jupiter Beach for about a dozen years. The Jupiter police have never stopped me. The Palm Beach County Park Officers have telling to travel in against the traffic. That is what causes conflict with the cyclists. The sidewalks are too congested and have hazards that are not safe for skaters so that is not an option. I have changed direction to go with traffic and have not had any issues lately. It seems like the gangs of cyclists that cause trouble are seasonal and I wonder if they even pay taxes here. I also think how I need to prepare to defend against a gang of cyclist approaching a pedestrian. I suggested a rape spray. My wife said that the courts would not find that an appropriate defense for a man. So I am thinking carrying a baseball bat or a sharp object for jousting. Anything within 3 feet is defensive.
going 13-15 mph is not ideal on a sidewalk either, especially in a downtown area, or at train/bus stations…
people exiting doors, especially if seniors, or children, or people carrying things like purchases or suitcases..
can suffer injuries by a speeding skate boarder, roller blader, scooter rider, etc. pedestrians exiting doors can not see up/down the sidewalk well, nor do they expect anything speeding on it….and riders can not see if/when a building’s door will open at any second.
which of course is why many cities ban skateboarding on such sidewalks. but with the proliferation of types of wheeled apparatuses, the list of prohibited items/activities keeps growing. because NONE of these types of things at those speeds belong on sidewalks!
Sidewalks are designed for pedestrian speeds…ie 4 mph or less!!!!
I believe that speeds of 5-20 mph on wheels of any sorts and that is 1-person width, all belong in a separate lane when it is provided!
but calling them “bike” lanes is a misnomer then, bcs the idea is the speeds and space occupancy…not the type of apparatus used….
sidewalks should be the 4mph or less….pedestrians, wheelchairs, segways at slow speeds, canes/crutches people, parents pulling children in wagons, etc.
road lanes should be for cars, trucks, buses, etc, that are generally in the 15 mph + speeds BUT ALSO wider for 2 or more to sit abreast.
Thus, golf carts in retirement communities belong on a road lane unless special separate right of way is provided.
bikes also are given the legal rights as cars when using road lanes.
“bike” lanes should be used together by all “people-powered wheeled apparatuses”….well, and of course with technology, the electric or hybrid versions as well…
the bicycles and electric bikes, or motorised bikes (but not motorcycles); scooters and new e-scooters; roller bladers; hoverboard users (whether now when on wheels, or in the future when they actually will hover in the air!); and similar size/type/shape of uses, should all be in this lane.
we need a new word: I have proposed: Flyss (rhymes with bliss, hiss, or miss)…
Ie, flyss lanes rather than bike lanes; users can have any kind of flyss at the flyss park instead of the skateboard park where teens with all sorts of apparatuses appear…
it’s not just for lanes, flyss can be used for designated activities by all these items such as “skateboard” parks which have more than skateboard users….how about “flyss parks”…..when we want to refer to the skateboard/roller blade/scooter type of devices, it is such a mouthful, but what about “flyss” items that include all these things…ie city bus terminal signs can say “no flyssing” rather than 4 lines saying no skateboarding, no roller blading, no this or that or whatever else prohbitions of wheeled items.
based on an old english word “flys” (rhymed with flies the insect however, which i am proposing to change to “bliss” sound) which meant a 4-wheeled human-powered cart to travel in…ie like to use to go on an outing like to the theatre or a restaurant) but which was a word used only for a short period in the 19th century, as the inbetween of a horse/carriage and the forthcoming automobile.
If we prohibit rollerbladers from sidewalks, roads, and cycle lanes…then what are they supposed to do? take their boots off and walk barefoot ??!!
That has its own dangers, such as broken glass seeing how cities normally don,t clean sidewalks and make the adjacent property owners do it! what about snow or ice removal when most of the road or bike lane might be cleared and deiced, but sidewalks rarely are?
the point is…we should be encouragine ACTIVE TRANSPORT of all kinds! reducing car usage and promoting healthful and useful transportation is what we are all supposed to be in the business of doing !!!!
So how is it so hard to accommodate?!?!?!
I used to rollerblade in the street back in Boston where I live with hills and potholes and cars and bad weather but if the law here says I have to rollerblade. On a sidewalk or a dedicated path then that’s how it will be with the exception of crossing the street at a crosswalk..
I definitely pay taxes in Miami Beach now and I ride a bicycle too I’m not sure what happens with electrical bicycles at night. Perhaps the city could clarify these things and post them it would be helpful.. I consider skateboarding to be in a separate category in terms of pedestrian risk but bicycles can also be harmful if operated carelessly..