BIKE: Most Dangerous Cities For Walking

[Dennis Abbott]

I lived and biked commuted in Fort Lauderdale FL for almost a year and
the place is absolutely unliveable and darn near impossible to bike
commute in.  A couple of major reasons:

* freaky white people that have built walled-off neighborhoods that
take up several blocks and have security gates.  This elininates all
but collector roads for travel.  No shoulders or bike lanes on
collectors either.

* old folks that really should not be driving.  They have actually
painted LARGER stripes on the road to alleviate this problem.  For
some reason its not turning out to be the optimal solution.

* when they drained the swamp to build the neighborhoods they had to
dig canals to build up the land and help drain off water.  They built
these not in straight lines but instead in esthetically pleasing curly
q's all over the place.  There are no bridges crossing these,
therefore if you find a neighborhood street it usually ends at a canal
and you have to backtrack.

* Toll roads(FL Turnpike), this really limited access freeway
eliminates any east-west travel for pedestrians and cyclists.  They
made no accomodations like tunnels or overpasses at all, it was the
Berlin Wall for FL peds and cyclists.

Absolutely no recreational weekend rides possible, its all houses and
collector roads from swamp to beach.  Worst place to live EVER.

Dennis Abbott


On Fri, 3 Dec 2004 08:27:54 -0600, Kevin Corry <kevincorry> wrote:
> Noticed this article in today's statesman about which cities in the US are the
> most dangerous for pedestrians. Not suprisingly, Florida seems to take top
> billings. Unfortunately, Texas doesn't seem to be mentioned, but I'm guessing
> we're more on the dangerous side than the safe side.
> 
> Kinda grim that almost 10,000 people died in two years just by walking along
> busy streets.
> 
> --
> Kevin Corry
> kevincorry
> 
> http://www.statesman.com/news/content/shared-gen/ap/National/Pedestrian_Deaths.html
> 
> South, West Most Hazardous for Pedestrians
> 
> By LESLIE MILLER
> Associated Press Writer
> 
> WASHINGTON — Cities in the South and West are the most dangerous for
> pedestrians, with four in Florida earning the dubious distinction of being
> the deadliest of all.
> 
> A private study released Thursday concluded that sprawling, newer cities in
> the South and West tend to be built with wide, high-speed roads that are
> especially dangerous for walking.
> 
> "So much of our transportation system is designed for cars and only cars,"
> said Anne Canby, president of the Surface Transportation Policy Project,
> which issued the report. The group advocates balanced transportation.
> 
> The report found that the 9,746 walkers who died in 2002-2003 were more likely
> to be killed on busy streets without crosswalks. Nearly 40 percent died where
> crosswalks weren't available.
> 
> "Wide roads, speeding traffic and a lack of crosswalks or sidewalks can make
> walking a deadly activity," the report said. "There simply are not enough
> pedestrian facilities."
> 
> Regional differences in walking safety are stark. Twice as many walkers die in
> traffic accidents in New Orleans, San Diego and Phoenix than in Minneapolis,
> Milwaukee and Boston.
> 
> People are three times more likely to be struck and killed on streets in
> Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Fla., Orlando and Miami-Fort Lauderdale than
> they are in Cleveland, Cincinnati and Columbus, Ohio.
> 
> Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, characterized by traffic speeding along
> eight-lane boulevards, was ranked first for its dangerous roads, with 3.69
> deaths per 100,000 people in 2002-2003.
> 
> Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio was announcing plans Thursday for improving pedestrian
> safety on Bay Shore Boulevard, one of the city's main thoroughfares. Iorio
> was responding to public concern over a young female jogger who was killed in
> February by a speeding motorcyclist while she tried to cross the busy
> boulevard.
> 
> Tampa City Council member Linda Saul-Sena, head of a new "Walkable Roadways"
> committee, wants drivers to recognize that city streets are for people, not
> for speed.
> 
> "It's changing the culture so the person in the SUV on the cell phone knows
> that it's their responsibility to stop and respect the pedestrians," said
> Saul-Sena.
> 
> Tampa can take heart from Salt Lake City, which STPP gave poor marks for
> protecting its walkers shortly after Rocky Anderson was elected mayor in
> 2000.
> 
> As new mayor, Anderson, who campaigned on making the city more walkable, saw a
> hit-and-run accident that injured a pedestrian on a downtown street. The
> victim survived, but Anderson vowed he would make the city's pedestrians more
> visible in a city where long blocks and very wide streets make walking
> dangerous.
> 
> The city put red flags in containers that pedestrians can carry across
> intersections and wave at drivers. Overhead lights that pedestrians can
> activate were installed at intersections. Undercover police ticketed drivers
> who failed to yield to pedestrians in crosswalks.
> 
> Salt Lake City also promotes walking around downtown by making it a better
> experience. Outdoor dining is now encouraged, ordinances were changed to make
> signs more interesting, artists and performers are allowed on public
> sidewalks.
> 
> As a result, accidents involving pedestrians fell 36 percent, to 114, in the
> first 11 months of 2004, from 177 in 2001.
> 
> The STPP ranked Salt Lake City the most improved city for pedestrian safety.
> 
> "It's about creating a more interesting, vibrant community, and it's working,"
> Anderson said.
> 
> ___
> 
> On the Net:
> 
> Surface Transportation Policy Project site: http://www.transact.org
> 
> _______________________________________________
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> 


-- 
Dennis Abbott
3501 Shoreline Drive
Apartment 612
Austin, TX 78728