For cyclists, it's an open road in Lakewood Ranch

East County resident Jeff Adams bikes along a usually serene stretch of Hidden River Trail in Lakewood Ranch twice a week with the Village Idiots cycling group.

It provides a safer alternative to traveling an east-west route like  State Road 70 or University Parkway.

Unfortunately, club members felt the county’s signs prohibiting bicycle traffic made the route more dangerous. The no-cycling signs originally were posted in 2005, but disappeared over the years. They were put back up in March 2015.

Cyclists in Lakewood Ranch long have maintained the signs are not legal and unenforceable  — the county had no ordinance to support them — and they have continued to use the route anyway. Adams said when Manatee County put the signs back up, it instigated conflicts with motorists.

“I’ve never been hit where I’ve been knocked off, but I’ve been hit by truck mirrors in the shoulder, and some (members) have been hit by cars,” said Adams, who is the Village Idiots president.

On Sept. 26, Manatee County commissioners voted to open Hidden River Trail to cyclists and ordered the signs taken down.

The cyclists hope motorists now will share the road in a polite manner.

“We’re extremely excited,” Adams said. “We’ve been riding Hidden River Trail because that’s the only safe way for us to get from Lakewood Ranch Boulevard to Lorraine Road.”

Adams said when Manatee County put up signs prohibiting golf carts and bicycles on Hidden River Trail in 2015, it created tension between cyclists and car drivers. Drivers felt like cyclists were in the wrong and should get out of the way.

“It caused a tremendous amount of ‘take the law in your own hands,’” Adams said.

Manatee County Commissioner Vanessa Baugh said her decision to open the road to cyclists stemmed largely from learning most motor vehicles were traveling more than 40 mph on the roadway when the posted speed limit is 25 mph.

“It showed me the issue is not the people on bikes. The issue is the people in the cars that are speeding and trying to pass in areas on that road where they shouldn’t,” she said.

Manatee County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Randy Warren reminded motorists there is no passing on Hidden River Trail.

“If there are bikes in front of you, you have to be patient,” he said.