INDIAN RIVER COUNTY – Hugh Aaron will cycle almost anywhere – except on the AB Michael (Wabasso) Bridge.

“I was scared to get on the bridge,” Aaron said. “You feel very exposed. It’s a really narrow shoulder.”

Cyclists, even experienced riders, say they avoid the bridge, especially on windy days.

“When I go up (the bridge) I’ll take the wind into account. I’ll take the weather into account. There are times when it’s risky,” said cyclist Barry Barker.

Others refuse to cross the bridge in groups, he said.

“They are scared,” Barker said.

After six years of asking the Florida Department of Transportation for a railing or gate on the bridge to improve safety, clistes say they are encouraged by the state’s plan for a chain link fence on the bridge. But the $ 180,000 project was put on hold after FDOT received around 150 letters claiming the link in the chain would be an eyesore.

The FDOT is now planning an $ 880,000 railing system, the same one used by the California Department of Transportation. The galvanized steel system, which received positive feedback from the Metropolitan Planning Organization on Wednesday, would create a 48-inch barrier between the roadway and the top of the railing.

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The FDOT wanted to make sure the new plan was acceptable before moving forward, District 4 FDOT secretary Gerry O’Reilly said.

“I can’t go back and have somebody say, ‘I can’t support this,'” O’Reilly told DFO.

While they’re not completely convinced the guardrail system is as secure as the chain link proposal, cyclists say the FDOT plan could work.

The barrier will be about 6 inches lower than the 54-inch system used by the California Department of Transportation, but slightly higher than the 44-inch safety standard used by the FDOT, officials said.

At the very least, say cyclists, it’s better than what’s on the bridge now.

“It’s definitely better than no ramp,” Aaron said. “When the barrier goes up, I might be more inclined to go up it.”

Safety improvements have been needed for years, cyclists said.

“We have to do it, and we have to do it now,” Vero Cycling president David Hunter told DFO.

The small wall currently on either side of the Wabasso Bridge offers little protection against a cyclist being pushed onto the bridge if struck by a vehicle, the cyclists said. The narrow 4-foot-wide shoulder leaves almost no room for a rider if there is traffic, especially if debris is clogging the shoulder.

The thought of what might happen makes crossing the bridge intimidating, cyclists said.

“This bridge is scary,” said cyclist Peter Nebenfuhr. “I’m trying to avoid the bridge. The tracks are not very wide.

Often, said Nebenfuhr, he rolls on the pavement, a movement called “taking the lane”, permitted by state law.

Whether the 48-inch railing is secure enough depends on the size of the rider and where the person would be affected in the event of an accident, Nebenfuhr said.

“(The guardrail system) will be better, but it won’t be OK,” said Nebenfuhr. “Why not make it as safe as possible?” ”

Colleen Wixon is the Indian River County Government Watch Reporter for TCPalm.com. Contact her at 772-978-2235 or [email protected]