A study released nine months ago (and already reported on here) by Smart Growth America found that between 2008 and 2017, drivers struck and killed 49,340 people in the United States, and 5,433 of those occurred in Florida.
These horrific numbers place Florida as the literal worst state to be a pedestrian in the country.
To make matters worse, the five most dangerous areas in the whole country (after you adjust for population) are all located in Central Florida, with the top spot going to the Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford area (656 deaths), Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach (212 deaths), Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville (165 deaths), North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton (194 deaths), and Lakeland-Winter Haven (162 deaths).
Also present at No.6 was Jacksonville (419 deaths), No. 8 Cape Coral-Fort Myers (148 deaths), and No.9 Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater (900 deaths).
“This is happening because our streets, which we designed for the movement of vehicles, have not changed,” said the study.
“In fact, we are continuing to design streets that are dangerous for all people. Furthermore, federal and state policies, standards, and funding mechanisms still produce roads that prioritize high speeds for cars over safety for all people. To reverse this trend and save lives, we need to protect all users of the transportation system through our policies, programs, and funding.”
Back in July, a Hillsborough County judge said that the county’s 1-cent transportation tax is legal, and County Commissioners voted to approve how revenue from the tax will be spent.
As part of the reinstatement, 27% of the general purpose funds must be spent on safety enhancements to existing streets, roads and bridges. Transportation network improvements to enhance pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure get another 12%.
Today, Hillsborough County Commissioners voted to restore their original blueprint for spending of the one-cent sales tax.
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This article appears in Sep 12-19, 2019.
