Success of Bahama Village bike tour may lead to seasonal repeats

BY PRU SOWERS

KONK LIFE STAFF WRITER

Still reeling from the unexpected surge of people who attended Key West City Commissioner Clayton Lopez’s first-ever bike tour of Bahama Village on March 28, the commissioner said he is considering offering the free tour on an on-going basis.

 

“If we can tie it in to upcoming holidays and recognition [events], then I’d certainly try to do something similar again,” Lopez said. “We were able to count up to 116 bikers. I know it was hard for people to hear everything. And I know we didn’t cover everything we wanted to.”

 

Lopez led a walking tour of Bahama Village two years ago during Transportation Month as a way to inspire people to get out of their cars. The plan this year was more ambitious, to encourage bikers to cover new ground, learning about the historic neighborhood both past and present. Lopez said he was hoping that 20 to 30 people would show up. But an unanticipated mass of bikers turned out on the cool Saturday morning ready to ride hear stories of the neighborhood’s birth as well as challenges and potential solutions currently impacting area residents.

 

Joan Higgs, Monroe County Health Department Administrator, told the bikers about the adult and children’s programs currently offered to Bahama Village residents at the Roosevelt Sands Community Health Resource Center on Olivia Street. Alison Higgins, Key West Sustainability Coordinator, talked about the planned community garden and how there will be more land available to resident farmers than originally anticipated.

 

But it was the old stories that particularly captivated the bikers, the ones talking about how the current Frederick Douglass Gym was the original site of an all-black high school – also named after Frederic Douglass – that educated African American and Bahamian American students before desegregation was approved in Monroe County. And visits to some local churches clarified their political as well as religious contributions, according to one biker, Betsy Moore.

 

“I never understood the difference between the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church and the AME Zion Church. They grew out of two very important traditions. The AME Church was started in Philadelphia and was one of the first all-African American denominations in America. The AME Zion Church was involved in the underground railroad,” Moore said, referring to the secret routes and safe houses used to help slaves escape to free states in the United States and Canada during the 19th Century.

 

Lopez said one of his goals for the bike tour was to get feedback on some of the current plans to rehabilitate the blighted areas of the Bahama Village neighborhood. He said the tour was a learning experience for him as well as the bikers.

 

“I wanted to talk about some of my vision and some of the issues we know are going on and hopefully get some input on some of my ideas on the future of Bahama Village. Some people put some input in and others promised to contact me later,” he said.

 

Betsy Moore had at least one idea.

 

“I felt there were a lot of civic projects that have been in the planning cycle for quite some time; three years, 10 years, 19 years. The question I would ask now, is there a priority list of these projects,” she said.

 

Overall, however, the tour was a big hit.

 

“It [Bahama Village] has been a vital community and remains a vital community. There’s no question it’s had deep roots in all aspects of Key West: religious, educational and health,” Moore said.

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