Avoid cul-de-sacs, look for gridded streets, low traffic volume

Getting from A to B in the city on a bicycle isn't always easy, especially through newly developed sprawl the that lacks throughways. An article in today's print addition of the News Journal describes realtors in Portland, OR helping homebuyers find bicycle friendly communities. Gridded streets allow bicyclists to travel on low traffic volume streets which parallel busy streets. In well-developed bicycling cities, these low traffic volume streets are called bicycle boulevards.

The best local example I know of is along S Pametto Ave which parallels Ridgewood Ave (US 1) to the east between roughly Big Tree Rd and Bethune Blvd. For east-west travel, the two-lane Bellevue road should serve the same purpose, keeping bicycle commuters off the very busy Beville Rd and International Speedway Blvd. Unfortunately, even through Bellevue was just repaved, no bike lanes.

Another problem is heading north from Daytona Beach (mainland side) up to Ormond beach west of Nova Road. After some route finding, you can make your way up the street grid has far as Hand Ave. After this, you are forced onto Nova Road or Cylde Morris Blvd as you enter the land of cul-de-sacs. Hand Ave is two-lanes, ready for expansion to four, and there is no shoulder for bicyclists heading west. In an effort to keep out all through traffic, the cul-de-sac communities force their bicycle commuting neighbors on to streets with high traffic volume and frequently no bike lanes or shoulders.