GULF STREAM, Fla. — A group of bicyclists is planning to go town by town along the beach in Palm Beach County asking for better conditions on the road both for them and drivers.
Their first stop was at Gulf Stream Town Hall on Friday morning for their monthly commission meeting.
Members of the newly formed Florida Share the Road Coalition told commissioners they plan to visit every town, city and police department along State Road A1A from Hillsboro Beach to Palm Beach.
They're asking cities to stick to standards from the Florida Department of Transportation.
Last week, six bicyclists and the driver of a car were injured in Gulf Stream on A1A during an early morning ride.
The Florida Highway Patrol said a 77-year-old woman from Lantana was driving a 2020 Kia Soul southbound on North Ocean Boulevard, hitting the bike riders going northbound.
WPTV spoke to both the coalition and the commission about the plans moving forward.
Cameron Oster was one of the members of Florida Share the Road who addressed commissioners. He said the coalition is made up of 10 bike groups from South Florida and add up to about 1,000 members.
They're focusing on better roadways for all, not just cyclists.
"Every region has unique roadways," Oster said, "and it's going to create unique approaches that we need to apply to a multitude of the FDOT standards to make the roadways safe for the drivers, the cyclists, the runners and all the people that are using the road."
In the meantime, Mayor Scott Morgan said the accident last week was a tragedy, and he said there's nothing the town or the bicyclists could've done to prevent it.
"It's a small, narrow road, with narrow rights of way," he said. "You have a lot of homes on either side of them. Very difficult to rework those roads, but there's a requirement for safety that the cyclists, the motorists and the towns must address."
The mayor went on to say the town encourages bicyclists to ride in single file, while people driving should give the right of way to bikes.
The group said one of the bicyclists injured is still in the ICU.
