crosswalk needed on n. bayshore
permalink | tags: bayshore, davis islands, diversity, downtown, health, tampa, transportationby tommy @ 8:05 am
Sticks of Fire reader Taylor sent this to us recently:
A group of Tampa residents headed by Mimi Conneely are pushing for a crosswalk at the north end of Bayshore. Currently there is no safe accommodation of foot, bike or wheelchair traffic to or from Davis Islands, leaving S.O.L. anybody without a car who needs to get to or from Tampa General Hospital, or any Davis Islands public or private amenity. Not to mention kids who live on Davis Islands and go to Gorrie, Wilson or Plant. Website is very preliminary for now, there is a petition going…
Actually, there is a footbridge to cross Bayshore, as part of the automobile bridge to DI. But then we heard from Mimi, who says that bridge is only accessible by stairs.
To Parents and Tax payers,
My name is Mimi Conneely, I have seen people in wheelchairs negotiating Bayshore to go from Davis Island to Publix and some who just want to wheel up and down Bayshore. There is no safe access from Publix to Bayshore or vise versa, until Howard. There is, however, an overpass for the ambulatory on the Davis Island bridge leaving the island.
We need support when we present to the Mayor. Please sign petition at, http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/bayshoreforall/
For more information, including pictures of light locations, go to www.bayshoreforall.com.
For pedestrians, just jump up those steps, scoot across the Bayshore, and head north. The walk from Tampa General to Publix is almost half a mile. But there is no way for wheelchair-bound folks to get up on that bridge; they must use crosswalks.
Going south of the DI bridges, the next crosswalk is the new one they installed at Howard Av., about two miles away, making a round trip better than 3.7 miles. So the obvious route is north. But in addition to the lack of crosswalk on Bayshore, there is no way to cross Platt without going all the way to Franklin. On the north side of Platt, there is no way to cross Ashley without going to Brorein. Yeah - it’s confusing, that’s why I made a map. You can clearly see the most direct wheelchair route is more than a mile, making a round trip 2.3 miles.
And don’t think this is just about shopping at Publix. From the residential side, wheelchair users must currently go at least 5 blocks out of the way just to get a good look at the bay.
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February 22nd, 2008 at 11:26 am
crosswalks are no good if people dont yield to pedestrians within them. we need more crosswalks, all over town, and pedestrian laws with teeth. now, that means no more jaywalking. but it also means the elderly will have a fighting chance to survive walking on Tampa’s streets.
February 23rd, 2008 at 2:46 pm
get ready for a fight, the folks who live down there hate the idea of crosswalks, remember the fight over the one at howard? A lot of the peds don’t even use it.
Last I heard Publix was looking to sell that site anyway, are we sure it is going to be there?
February 24th, 2008 at 10:56 am
The crosswalks idea is merely lipstick on the hog.
The real solution is that Bayshore needs
to lose an outer lane in each direction and the side medians and sidewalks need to become wider.
Bayshore was originally intended to become a promenade, not a major arterial to Macdill. Having all of those cars, and on 6 lanes, mixed in with dogs and walkers and skaters is a recipe for disaster, no matter how many crosswalks you have, or the color of the light poles, or the quality of the benches.
Of course, the nouveau riche who own the McMansions on Bayshore would never let such a revolutionary and fundamental (and sensible) thing such as a street diet happen on Bayshore. That’s why we’re always talking about band-aids. Remember the “don’t drive over 40 mph on Bayshore” bumper stickers? zzzzzzzzzz