Pinecraft Neighborhood in Sarasota FL, almost completely car-free

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  • January 4, 2013 at 2:33 am #958935
    KLizotte
    Participant

    Wow, that is so cool! I’ve been to Sarasota but somehow managed to miss this neighborhood and didn’t see a whole lot of bikers when I was visiting. If I recall correctly, a MUP runs through town. Be sure to see the minature circus (it’s not so minature) at the Ringling Museum.

    January 4, 2013 at 4:03 am #958946
    PeteD
    Participant

    Pinecraft is basically a trailer park smack dab in the middle of the Mennonite population there. I lived in Sarasota for 6 years, and had friends work at the really good Mennonite restaurants in that area, and other than the Mennonites, it’s not really all that car free. And although the roads there are nice and wide, with the greying population of Sarasota city and county (I believe Sarasota County is the 4th oldest county in the USA), I’d be quite afraid of riding there, even thru Bahia Vista and Tuttle.

    January 4, 2013 at 11:45 am #958947
    PotomacCyclist
    Participant

    While there probably aren’t too many road cyclists there, the mountain resort village of Zermatt, Switzerland is largely combustion engine-free. You arrive by train and move around town by battery-powered cars, or by walking. I went there once many years ago. Cleanest air I’ve ever breathed. Plus it’s not an isolated, backwoods town. There are many visitors from all over the world. I went in summer when it probably wasn’t as busy as it is in the winter.

    I’ve learned that there are now mountain bike rental shops in the town. So I definitely want to go back there someday, even if I won’t do any skiing. Some of the nearby hills are suitable for non-expert hiking too. You take a funicular up to the top and then hike back down. No special gear needed except for sturdy boots or shoes. (The Matterhorn is not one of those easy hikes, but it does offer a breathtaking sight from the town and the easier hills.)

    January 4, 2013 at 3:27 pm #958969
    DaveK
    Participant

    @PeteD 39523 wrote:

    Pinecraft is basically a trailer park smack dab in the middle of the Mennonite population there. I lived in Sarasota for 6 years, and had friends work at the really good Mennonite restaurants in that area, and other than the Mennonites, it’s not really all that car free. And although the roads there are nice and wide, with the greying population of Sarasota city and county (I believe Sarasota County is the 4th oldest county in the USA), I’d be quite afraid of riding there, even thru Bahia Vista and Tuttle.

    I used to work almost exclusively for developers in Manatee, Lakewood Ranch, and Sarasota… this thread has inspired me to go look at recent aerials of all the identical tract housing and six-lane roads I helped justify.

    When I complain to the universe, it just answers with that.

    January 4, 2013 at 3:41 pm #958971
    TwoWheelsDC
    Participant

    @DaveK 39546 wrote:

    I used to work almost exclusively for developers in Manatee, Lakewood Ranch, and Sarasota… this thread has inspired me to go look at recent aerials of all the identical tract housing and six-lane roads I helped justify.

    When I complain to the universe, it just answers with that.

    Sounds like the setup for a cyclist version of “Scrooged.”

    January 4, 2013 at 4:55 pm #958990
    DaveK
    Participant

    @TwoWheelsDC 39549 wrote:

    Sounds like the setup for a cyclist version of “Scrooged.”

    Every time I am hoping not to die on some ridiculous high-speed road, some part of my brain thinks “you earned this”.

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