No bike lanes exist on Palm Beach County road where 8 bicyclists were hit, police confirm
The crash that sent half a dozen bicyclists to the hospital happened in an area of State Road A1A that does not have a designated bicycle lane, Gulf Stream’s police chief confirmed Friday.
Eight bicyclists on an early-morning ride in the small Palm Beach County town were struck by a woman driving an SUV when she crossed the center line of the road just after 6 a.m. Thursday, according to the Florida Highway Patrol. Mangled bicycles were scattered along the road and under the SUV after the crash.
One of the bicyclists who was hit is identified as a 43-year-old Boca Raton man who was rushed to Delray Medical Center as a trauma patient. The driver and the rest of the bicyclists had injuries that were not life-threatening, according to the FHP.
The stretch has no bike lanes, and “every cyclist that we encountered during our response was wearing a helmet,” Police Chief Richard Jones confirmed on Friday.
The town’s manager or mayor did not immediately respond to requests for comment Friday.
But local riders said there are places when riding they have to just “hope for the best.”
Ryan Bickford, a rider and employee of a Boynton Beach-based bike shop, said Friday, “I don’t find it too safe to ride down here.”
He described the stretch along A1A as “just a really narrow road along the beach, in some sections there’s some sliver of a white line … but it’s a very narrow road. South Florida isn’t the friendliest of biking territory down here.”
Lisa J. Huriash can be reached at lhuriash@sunsentinel.com. Follow on X, formerly Twitter, @LisaHuriash
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