Walking through the danger zone

Once again, Tampa Bay's streets have been named the least friendly to pedestrians. Thus, efforts to increase safety continue.

By EDIE GROSS

© St. Petersburg Times, published June 25, 2000

The sun is shining, not a cloud in the sky. A light breeze blows in off the ocean, and you think, "Hey, nice day for a walk."

Not so fast, pal. This ain't New York City or L.A., you know. This is Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater.

You need to take the proper precautions: Don the body armor, secure a little extra life insurance, carry a good-luck charm.

The region has the unenviable distinction of being declared the most dangerous large metro area for pedestrians in the country, based on 1997 and 1998 fatality statistics compiled in the latest Mean Streets 2000 report.

For those scoring at home, this is the second time the Tampa Bay pedestrian arena has been saddled with this designation. The same report created with 1995 and 1996 statistics also labeled the region, comprising Pinellas, Hillsborough, Pasco and Hernando counties, the worst place for pedestrians in the United States.

Also included in the study's don't-walk-outside-if-you-value-your-life Top 10 are four other Florida locations: Miami-Fort Lauderdale (3), Orlando (4), Jacksonville (5) and West Palm Beach-Boca Raton (7).

Surely, you say, there are worse neighborhoods in which to walk. Los Angeles perhaps? Maybe Detroit? The Big Apple?

In fact, more pedestrians were killed in each of those metropolitan areas during the two-year study. But because so many more people walk in those areas, the kill rate -- referred to innocuously in the study as the "pedestrian danger index" -- is much lower there.

That raises questions: Are Florida communities -- and this one in particular -- really that dangerous for pedestrians? And if so, what are local transportation officials doing about the problem?

In 1997 and 1998, 192 pedestrians died in the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater metropolitan area, according to the Mean Streets study. Statewide, 1,083 pedestrians were killed. They accounted for nearly 20 percent of all traffic-related deaths in Florida.

"There's a lot we can do, and there's a lot we are doing," said Theo Petritsch, the pedestrian and bike coordinator for Florida's Department of Transportation. "Florida developed after the air conditioning, which was after the car. We were designed for the times, and the times were cars."

What's the problem?

Officials with the Surface Transportation Policy Project, who put together the Mean Streets 2000 study, agree that Florida's late development compared with places like Boston, New York and Philadelphia contributes to its poor treatment of pedestrians.

Many communities -- North Pinellas, for example -- were built without the old-timey neighborhood shops, groceries and offices. Residents in the suburbs have to drive everywhere.

That puts more cars on the roads. Drivers are less likely to see a pedestrian, making them less likely to stop for one.

"We just don't yield to pedestrians," said Angelo Rao, St. Petersburg's traffic manager. "I can't say it any simpler than that."

Studies indicate that locally, cars stop for pedestrians only 3 percent or 4 percent of the time, Rao said.

"We're going to have to get motorists sensitive to the fact that pedestrians are out there," Petritsch said. "There's got to be a motorist-looking-for-pedestrian part of this equation, or we're stuck."

Petritsch also points out that the equation used to calculate the pedestrian danger index does not help the area's image. The equation basically divides the average annual fatality rate -- a large number for us -- by the percent of the community walking to work, a small number for us.

And, as most fifth-graders who survived the FCAT can tell you, when you divide a large number by a small one, you get a large number. Hence, the region's pedestrian danger index is high: 91 on a scale of 100.

We could blame the weather. Florida's mild climate promotes year-round outdoor activities, including walking. Ironically, places like Chicago, New York and Pittsburgh appear to have much higher walking rates in the Mean Streets study, despite ridiculously cold winters. That's because more people in those cities claim to walk to work.

Many of our pedestrians are tourists, dog walkers and folks out for a stroll, all of whom are included in the fatality rate, that big number on the top of the equation.

They are not, however, included in the count of people who walk to work, the little number on the bottom.

There's always the alcohol factor. Half of the accidents on state roads that killed pedestrians in Florida involved a pedestrian who was intoxicated, Petritsch said.

"Trying to get drunk people across the street is a real problem," he said. "You know, "Don't drink and drive,' but you never think, "Don't drink and walk."'

The folks at Surface Transportation Policy Project theorized that this region's large share of senior citizens might contribute to the high fatality rate since they are more prone to die in pedestrian accidents. Nationally, 22 percent of all pedestrians killed were over 65, even though only 13 percent of the population is elderly.

But the theory doesn't hold water. Pittsburgh has almost the same percentage of elderly residents as Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, and yet it is considered the safest metropolitan area for pedestrians in the country, said Michelle Garland, an analyst on the project.

"There's something else going on," said Garland, who was unable to pinpoint the area's problem. "It's very curious."

What to do?

While no one seems to know exactly why we scored so miserably on the Mean Streets study, just about everyone has an opinion on how to improve the pedestrian's lot in Tampa Bay.

Thankfully, some of these suggestions are in the works.

"It's definitely a situation where, in some cases, we're playing catch-up, just like the entire transportation system in this area," said David Fechter, a management analyst with Largo's Public Works Department and chairman of the Community Traffic Safety Team. "Like Orlando and Jacksonville, we grew a little bit too fast and didn't have all the proper mechanisms in place at the time."

The U.S. 19 Task Force committee has recommended building connected sidewalks along the highway to keep pedestrians from walking along the shoulder of the road and discourage them from crossing the highway between intersections. U.S. Rep. Mike Bilirakis, R-Palm Harbor, has requested $2-million in federal funds for the project.

Sidewalks are also planned for East Bay Drive and Ulmerton Road after major construction projects are completed, said Fechter.

To help visually impaired pedestrians, the city of Largo installed a walk signal at East Bay Drive and Highland Avenue that beeps when it is safe to cross the street, Fechter said.

In St. Petersburg, when pedestrians use the crosswalk at Central Avenue and 33rd Street, overhead lights turn on, making them easier to see at night. Several communities are considering crosswalks that light up like runways when pedestrians enter them.

St. Petersburg also repainted some of its "stop bars" 20 to 30 feet from the traffic signals, Rao said. Usually, the white lines telling cars where to stop on the pavement are only 4 to 6 feet from the light. The bigger space "gives pedestrians a little more elbow room," Rao said.

Clearwater intends to build a pedestrian overpass over McMullen-Booth Road as part of the East-West Trail. Largo has applied for a grant to build an overpass over Missouri Avenue, connecting the Pinellas Trail with Largo Central Park.

Neighborhoods in Largo, Seminole and Palm Harbor have convinced the county to install speed humps on their roads to slow down cut-through traffic and protect residents.

Garland, of the Surface Transportation Policy Project, said other communities have narrowed and landscaped roads to slow traffic, added raised medians to give pedestrians a place to rest while crossing busy streets, and integrated land uses so that residents can walk to nearby businesses and offices instead of driving.

In those instances, the roads need to be smaller and the speeds need to be slower to encourage residents to walk, said Ed Crawford, a Tampa resident and vice president of Florida Consumer Action Network.

"If you go to a grocery store in Hillsborough or Pinellas, at one point or another you'll have to cross a four- to six-lane road," Crawford said. "That's where the trouble starts."

To combat that trouble, Pinellas County officials announced their "Courtesy promotes safety!" campaign in September. The revolutionary program urged pedestrians to raise their arm as if shaking someone's hand and enter the crosswalk with that arm extended.

If you survived the experience, you were supposed to give drivers a friendly wave and a smile.

Garland was not impressed.

"That sounds pretty bad," she said. "It's like the hokeypokey or something."

Local planners insist the exercise -- which has not, it seems, caught on in a meaningful way -- warns drivers to stop.

"You can't just step out," said Brian Smith, Pinellas County planning director. "The vehicle needs to know what you intend to do."

Local officials, unhappy with the Mean Streets ranking, say they intend to do plenty to make the bay area's roads safer for pedestrians. Crawford of Tampa suggests that a little encouragement from residents could not hurt.

"Carry a copy of this study around with you," said Crawford. "Whenever you're in sight of a City Council, hold that thing up and say, "What are we going to do about this?' "

-- Edie Gross covers Pinellas County government for the Times. She can be reached at gross@sptimes.com or (727) 445-4166.

Walking, by the numbers

While Americans took less than 6 percent of their trips on foot, almost 13 percent of all people killed in traffic accidents were pedestrians.

Based on the number of deaths per mile traveled, walking is 36 times more dangerous than driving and over 300 times more dangerous than flying.

For every pedestrian killed by a car in 1997 and 1998 -- 10,696 nationwide -- 14 more were injured.

Twenty-two percent of all pedestrians killed were over 65 even though only 13 percent of the population is elderly.

On average, states spend 55 cents per person of federal funds on pedestrian projects, compared to $72 per person on highway projects. Florida spends an average of 71 cents per person on pedestrian projects and $52 per person on highway projects. However, many highway projects also include pedestrian amenities, like sidewalks.

Most people can walk between 2.5 and 6 feet per second, meaning they would need 2 to 4.8 seconds to get across one 12-foot lane of traffic. Eighty-five percent of people over the age of 70 are more comfortable walking 2.2 feet per second, meaning they need close to 5.5 seconds to cross a lane of traffic.

Almost 60 percent of pedestrian deaths occurred in places where no crosswalk was available.

The amount of walking in the country has dropped 42 percent in the last 20 years. Meanwhile, 31 percent of Floridians are overweight.

- Source: Surface Transportation Policy Project

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