page_title: Transportation in South Florida
section_title: Bicycling
hierarchical_section_title: Transportation in South Florida / Bicycling
caption_attribution_description: English: A Deco Bike rack in South Beach
context_page_description: The Greater Miami area, composed of the three counties of Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach, also known collectively as South Florida, is home to a wide variety of public and private transportation systems. These include heavy rail mass transit, commuter rail, automated guideway transit, highways, two major airports and seaports, as well as three county-wide bus networks, which cover the entire urbanized area of South Florida. Census and ridership data show that Miami has the highest public transportation usage of any city in Florida, as about 17% of Miamians use public transportation on a regular basis, compared to about 4% of commuters in the South Florida metropolitan area. The majority of public transportation in Miami is operated by Miami-Dade Transit, which is currently the largest transit system in Florida and was the 14th largest transit system in the United States in 2011.
  South Florida is one of the most densely populated urbanized areas in the United States overall, being bound by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and the South Florida Water Management District and the Everglades to the west, with a fairly strict Urban Development Boundary.
context_section_description: There are many popular bike routes in Miami-Dade County and South Florida. In the 2000s, the city government under Mayor Manny Diaz took an ambitious stance in support of bicycling in Miami for both recreational and commuting purposes. The city began to host a monthly event known as "Bike Miami", where major streets in Downtown and Brickell were closed to automobiles, and left open for pedestrians, bicyclists, and other human powered transportation. The event began in November 2008, and doubled in popularity from 1,500 participants to about 3,000 in the October 2009 Bike Miami. This event differed from Critical Mass as streets were officially closed by authorities. Now known as Critical Mass Miami, the event is held on the last Friday evening of every month. The event quickly grew in popularity, drawing thousands of cyclists including high-profile individuals such as Miami Heat stars LeBron James and Dwyane Wade. The event has caused some controversy over its loosely organized structure as well as rowdy crowds and unimpressed motorists. In October 2009, the city also approved an extensive 20-year plan for bike routes and paths around the city. The city has begun construction of bike routes as of late 2009, and under the new Miami 21 zoning laws ordinances requiring bike parking in all future construction in the city is now mandatory as of October 2009. In 2010, Miami was ranked number 44 most bike-friendly city in the U.S. according to Bicycling Magazine. Several large biking events are planned throughout South Florida for the fall 2011 season, including possible 100+ mile charity and timed runs.
  In early 2012, a major gap in the MetroPath, which follows the Metrorail guideway from Brickell station to Dadeland South station, was completed with the addition of a bridge over the freeway entrance to the Snapper Creek Expressway from US 1, where traffic never has to stop. From the bridge, a 1.2 mi (2 km) extension to Dadeland South was completed, connecting the now 11 mi (18 km) path with the 20 mi (32 km) South Dade Rail Trail, which follows the South Dade Transitway continuously all the way to Florida City. This created a 31 mi (50 km) off-road bicycle and pedestrian corridor.
  In the 21st century, bicycling has grown in popular in Miami Beach as well. Due to its dense, urban nature, and pedestrian-friendly streets, many Miami Beach residents get around by bicycle. Locally, South Beach has implemented many BikeShare units all around the neighborhood in a system known as DecoBike, which launched in March 2011. The initial rollout of the program included "approximately 100 solar-powered stations and 1,000 custom-designed bikes available to residents and visitors." This public bicycle sharing and rental program is owned and operated by DecoBike, LLC, a Miami-based company, and operates under a long-term agreement with the City of Miami Beach. The service is available to both residents and visitors – any adult with a major credit card can check out a bike to pedal to their next location. An iPhone app and an interactive map on the DecoBike website allows riders to locate the nearest "station" and gives riders the number of bikes available and the number of free docking spaces. In 2014, the bike-sharing system expanded to the downtown Miami area with a new branding under Citi Bike.
  In early 2012, Miami Beach announced plans to build a 2,900 ft (884 m) elevated bicycle and pedestrian path from Belle Isle to the beach along the Collins Creek seawall on the south side of Dade Boulevard. The plan was approved and was initially set to be finished in July 2012; however, after procurement issues the project was not started until that year and, after intermittent construction, it has been given a completion date of 2015.
caption: A DecoBike BikeShare rack in South Beach
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