Unless you're new to the Tampa Bay area, you don't know need to be informed about how hazardous the roads in the region are to bicyclists and pedestrians.
The group Transportation published a report last year about the most dangerous metro areas for pedestrian deaths. The Tampa/St. Petersburg/Clearwater area was ranked the second most dangerous in the nation. Last year, 13 bicyclists were killed in Hillsborough County, the deadliest year for cyclists since 1996, prompting former Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood to host a bicycle safety summit in Tampa last month.
To commemorate the cyclists who have died here and around the world, local riders will gather this coming Wednesday night, May 15, in Tampa's Curtis Hixon Park to observe the 11th annual Ride of Silence.
This article appears in May 9-15, 2013.