Tampa Streets Dangerous to Pedestrians and Cyclists

Shannon Weidemann

Contributor

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Last year 204 people were injured on the streets of Tampa, either walking or on bicycles.  Ten people were killed in pedestrian accidents and 3 were killed riding on bikes.  They were all hit by cars or trucks.  City officials are constantly analyzing new ways to make the streets safer.  They also say some accidents could be prevented if people used marked crosswalks. 

While it appears that there are more opportunities for cars and people to collide in dense areas like downtown, accidents are actually more likely to happen in places where there is more distance between crosswalks, such as on Nebraska and Hillsborough avenues. People often take their chances and dart across the street on foot or bike despite oncoming traffic, Bennett said.

Still, downtown has its dangers, and the Tampa Downtown Partnership often works with the city to identify ways to make the grid system more walkable.

  Pedestrian accidents in Tampa are down 66 percent from the same time last year.  The Tampa Downtown Partnership hopes to find funding to install more clear signage downtown for pedestrians.  The police department hopes that by educating the public accidents will go down even more.