Tampa is not built for walking.
The U.S. Department of Transportation reports that Hillsborough County has the highest traffic fatality rate per capita among large counties in the nation. On top of this, on average, 44 people die and 289 experience life-altering injuries on Tampa roads annually, according to the agency.
Which is why today, the U.S. Department of Transportation announced $39.7 million in grants to the City of Tampa and Hillsborough County to help make the roads more secure for pedestrians and bicyclists.
“Every year, crashes cost tens of thousands of American lives and hundreds of billions of dollars to our economy; we face a national emergency on our roadways, and it demands urgent action,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg in a statement.
The federal Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) grant program, aims to help redesign roads, create better sidewalks and crosswalks in an effort to prevent deaths and serious injuries on the nation’s roadways.
The City of Tampa will receive $20 million for T-SAFE (Tampa Systemic Applications for Equity). The money will be used for installing pedestrian mid-block crosswalks, backplates with reflective borders, flashing beacons, high visibility crosswalks, and signage enhancements along the city’s road network.
Tampa will also install new sidewalks and implement new safety measures, like street light upgrades, separated bike lanes, and school speed zone flashers—near several schools, parks, and transit routes, says the press release.
Hillsborough County will receive a total of $19.7 million for its Data Driven Equitable Transportation Safety Programs. The money will be targeted towards 22 locations throughout the county, and will be used for installing new safety countermeasures like sidewalks, curb bulb-outs, bike lanes, and speed management strategies.
The grants come at an imperative time as national traffic fatalities reached a 16-year high in 2021. Here in Tampa Bay, pedestrians accounted for 87 of Hillsborough County's 273 traffic deaths, according to a 2021 study by Signal Four Analytics.
Tampa and Hillsborough County receive nearly $40 million in federal grants to improve pedestrian safety
The grants come at an imperative time as national traffic fatalities reached a 16-year high in 2021.
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