To be a better place in four years, Tampa Bay needs to become more bikeable

Tampa Bay needs more bikeability. Making Tampa more bike-friendly is the right step in addressing various challenges including decongesting traffic, improving people's health, and improving pollution. Wouldn't it be great to have a future where we're spending less time in traffic jams, visiting the doctor less often, and breathing cleaner air?

I grew up in Tampa but lived in Berlin, Germany the past nine years. I didn't own a car there and rode my bike to work as well as used it to do errands, and meet up with people. It was amazing. I just returned to Tampa and miss riding my bike everywhere. Tampa can become more bike-friendly like other cities in the U.S. and in Europe. How? Some ideas include:

• Urban and transportation planners need to think long term and study how other U.S. cities and those in Europe, have managed to make their cities more bike-friendly.
• Implement pilot project areas and/or experiment with closing certain streets on Sundays and making those streets only for bikes
• Make bicycle lanes separate from cars, trucks, and buses so that people feel more safe
• Implement communications campaign to encourage people to bike
• Provide rebates or tax incentives for those who ride their bikes

—Carla Rojas Paz

To commemorate the leap year, Creative Loafing Tampa Bay asked readers and local leaders to chime in on what Tampa Bay needs to be a better place in four years. These are some of the results of the "What Tampa Bay Needs" survey.

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