According to the Surface Transportation Policy Partnership and Transportation for America, the most dangerous metropolitan areas in the U.S. for walking in 2007-2008 were: Orlando, Tampa, Miami, Jacksonville, Memphis, Raleigh, Louisville, Houston, Birmingham and Atlanta.
That’s right. The top four places most dangerous to those of us walking around outside are all in Florida – a state that markets itself on the beauty and weather of the outdoors.
Welcome to Paradise.
Tino
4 months ago
Worst. Drivers. Ever.
I wouldn’t blame public policy on this. Uneducated Tampa Bay drivers, who are completely ignorant of the most basic traffic rules (signalling, the ability to turn on a red light, etc), can’t kill pedestrians fast enough.
More sidewalks won’t help — you can drive down Bayshore, Kennedy, any major thoroughfare, and see the signs commemorating poor walkers creamed by an out-of-control vehicle.
I also used to love cycling until I moved here — I gave it up because the health benefits were negated by the high probability of becoming a hood ornament.
tom
4 months ago
Pedestrians share some of the blame. They walk on the wrong side of the street, they walk with headphones so they can’t sense their surroundings, they jay walk, they don’t make themselves visible at night. Sometimes these incidents just clean out the shallow end of the gene pool, I’m afraid.