JUPITER, Fla. — Thomas Houck frequently bikes around Jupiter, specifically the area of Maplewood Drive and Toney Penna Drive.
Despite there being bike lanes on Maplewood Drive, there aren't any on Toney Penna Drive near Jerry Thomas Elementary School. At a recent Let's Hear It event, Houck expressed these concerns to WPTV about the lack of bike lanes, especially around a school.
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Anchor Ashley Glass reached out to the Town of Jupiter to find answers, and Director of Community Relations Shawn Reed says the road isn't wide enough to allow for a bike lane.
"The Toney Penna Drive roadway is 24 feet in width, with each lane measuring 12 feet in width, which is the required width for lanes for vehicles and emergency vehicles. As the roadway is the exact width required for two lanes of traffic, re-striping the road to add a bike lane is not possible," Reed wrote.
Reed said that Toney Pena Drive would need to be widened, along with drainage upgrades, utility work and intersection modifications to add bike lanes.
A multi-modal path for both bicyclists and pedestrians is located on the southern side of Toney Penna Drive from Central Boulevard to Maplewood Drive. Another path is on the northern side of Toney Penna, frmo the western-most entrance of Jerry Thomas Elementary to Jupiter High School's southeastern entrance.
"Pedestrian and bicyclist safety is one of the Town’s strategic focuses each year and the Town regularly considers projects that enhance safety in these regards," Reed wrote.
WPTV reached out to the Jupiter Police Department for statistics on any accidents involving bicycles in the area and is awaiting a response.
