A small but lively group of Upper Eastsiders turned out last night to hear Florida Department of Transportation plans for improved walker safety on Biscayne Boulevard between Morningside and NE 77th Street.

Major streets in South Florida and much of the rest of the country appear to have been designed with the needs of walkers as a second thought at best. National Public Radio reports on the efforts of Transportation for America to move city and state planners toward the concept of complete streets -- streets for all the people.

Florida’s four largest urban areas are among the country’s most dangerous for walkers, transportation policy advocates noted Monday in releasing a study that associates street and road design with high numbers of injuries and deaths. In large and small cities throughout Florida, it’s common to find streets designed primarily to move cars swiftly

There's a new "honor box" at Bill Baggs State Park, following Green Mobility Network's call about how awkward it was for cyclists to dodge motor traffic to pay entrance fees. Here's park manager Robert Yero's follow-up note:

Ground was broken this week to connect the South Dade Trail and the M-Path. That's a key goal in Green Mobility Network's Complete the M-Path campaign. Connecting the two greenways will close the Dadeland Gap, where inexperienced bicyclists often get discouraged and turn away. The present work will provide a path from Kendall Drive to the Dadeland South Metrorail station. Other parts of the project will extend from Kendall to the Dadeland North station and from there to SW 67th Avenue, the current south end of the M-Path.

Green Mobility Network fielded a three-member tag team Thursday as the Miami City Commission passed three pro-bicycle proposals.

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Several newcomers joined a handful of Green Mobility regulars for last weekend's M-

Green Mobility Network supports Safe Routes to School and International Walk to School Day (Oct. 7, 2009). Safe Routes to School is a national movement to promote healthy and safe ways of getting children to school that involve physical activity, such as walking and bicycling.

Every jogger or cyclist I have talked to lately has a tale about a close call with a motorist either talking on a cell phone or, incredibly, using it for text-messaging.