BikeWalkLee: Street safety a matter of design

BikeWalkLee Column ‘Go Coastal’
The News-Press, March 25, 2021
by Ken Gooderham

Image courtesy: 1stbikes.org

The most recent “Dangerous by Design” study of pedestrian deaths arrived recently, with Florida still leading as the most dangerous state for pedestrians. In an unexpected bit of “good” news, the Fort Myers-Cape Coral area’s ranking went down slightly since 2019, pushing us out of the Top 10 most dangerous areas (although the state overall was still well represented there).

Any positive feelings this news might have engendered were quickly dashed in the wake of a hit-and-run on a quiet Alva road that left one cyclist dead and another injured… as this still-anonymous driver took it upon him or herself to drag us back to being the best of the worst. Our condolences to the family and friends on a senseless loss.

The report found a number of issues including:

• Nationwide, it’s getting more dangerous each year for pedestrians and non-motorized traffic, with deaths up 45% from 2010 to 2019.
• As with many other areas of life, danger is driven by racial and economic factors – with more people of color plus older and poorer populations at greater risk.
• The current methods to combat this danger – enforcement and education – don’t seem to be moving the needle.
• Design matters – not just of roadways and bike-ped facilities, but of motor vehicles themselves. The report cites the rise in trucks and SUVs overall – and the increase in the size of both types of vehicles – as factors making our streets more deadly.
• Design can even ameliorate other driver mistakes – such as driving too fast or distracted driving – by increasing the chance of survival while making drivers’ dangerous behavior more difficult.
• Unfortunately, much roadway design still prioritizes speed over safety, while pitting motorized vs. non-motorized traffic against one another for visibility and safety.
• While the data is incomplete, it appears that the drop in driving due to the pandemic has not resulted in a concurrent drop in pedestrian deaths… as a lack of congestion brought on an increase in speeding.
• Geography also matters: Nine of the Top 10 worst places for safety are Sunbelt states (Delaware being the outlier). It’s not because the weather encourages more walking and biking but, say the report’s authors, because the development patterns that encourage driving and create more distances to get from one place to another.
• As mentioned above, our area saw the biggest drop in the danger index… a sign that some of the local efforts to make our streets safer are working, as well as an indication of how high our danger level was to begin with (since this big drop still left us just outside the Top 10 most dangerous). 

A word to the wary: This index is focused mainly on policymakers, a way to point out their failings and successes by measuring the human toll that bad design and incomplete streets wreak on a community. The ability to pit one area against another as well as show the causal relationship between better design and better safety can get official attention more effectively than a dry recitation of safety statistics.

The secondary audience is the bike/ped participant… not to scare you off the streets altogether, but to help you understand why the design of those streets can really matter to you.

Case in point: A new bike/ped facility such as a bike path or lane is rightly lauded for enhancing safety (as compared to what existed before). But if users still have to navigate a narrow and shoulder-less road to get to that path or lane, overall safety has not been reduced for those walkers or riders. 

Better facilities matter, but so does a better network of facilities that allows walkers and riders the ability to go further safer.

It’s also important not to allow this discussion to devolve into a driver vs. walker or rider argument. Better designed roadways are better for all users, giving everyone on that road a safe path to move from Point A to Point B even in the busiest times. Better designed roadways also make it easier for everyone to be safe, by including elements that enhance visibility, control speed, smooth transitions and allow for a variety of skills.

None of us are confined to just one role in roadway use, likely moving from driver to walker to rider through the course of a day. So wouldn’t it be better for all to know our roadways are designed to be safer, no matter the role we’re playing?

 

EVENTS: Here’s the latest in organized running and biking events locally… but confirm with the organizers and be flexible in case conditions change and large-group activities are limited. Of course, wear a mask and act appropriate to your age, physical condition and medical concerns.

FORT MYERS TRACK CLUB (ftmyerstrackclub.com):

• Run for the Youth 5K, March 27, LCSO Central District
  
• Downtown Dash, 1-mile run/walk, in person in downtown Fort Myers Friday, April 16
• Head & Neck Cancer A Hard Thing to Swallow 5K Run & 2-Mile Walk (in-person and virtual), Saturday, April 24

GC RUNNERS (gcrunner.org):

• Baker Park 5K, Saturday, March 27
• Run for the Music 10K, Saturday, April 10
• Tropicool 5K, May 8
  
• SNIP Collier 5K, May 31
  

ELITE EVENTS (runeliteevents.com):

• Naples Distance Classic, 5K/10K/half marathon, Saturday, April 10
  

OTHER RUNS

• Lakes Park Enrichment Foundation Virtual 5K fun run/walk, March 27 - April 3 (virtual, runsignup.com)
  
• Publix Run to the Arts 5K run/walk – in-person is now delayed to Nov. 20, runsignup.com or runtothearts.com
  

OTHER RIDES:

The Caloosa Riders are offering member rides, but some are open to non-members (and it wouldn’t hurt you to join the club); check their ride calendar (caloosariders.org) for a description of the distance and speed, and to see if the ride is open to all.

SW Florida Critical Mass is offering their usual slate of family-friendly rides. Check out their line-up online (www.meetup.com/Biking-SWFL/events/) for details and times (and to make sure the ride is still rolling).

• SW Florida Critical Mass ride, first Friday of the month. A family-friendly slow night ride through Fort Myers. Front and rear bike lights required. Helmet and lights required, meet in the parking lot at 2180 West First Street, Fort Myers. 
• Sanibel Critical Mass night ride, second Saturday of the month. Gathers at Jerry’s Shopping Center, 1700 Periwinkle Way, on Sanibel. Lights required, helmets recommended.
• NE Lee Critical Mass ride, third Friday of the month. Gather in the Winn Dixie parking lot on Palm Beach Blvd. about five miles east of the Interstate; gather at 7 p.m. and roll at 7:30 p.m. for a slow ride through Fort Myers Shores.
• Cape Coral Critical Mass ride, fourth Friday of the month. Gather at the Southwest Florida Military Museum parking lot at 4820 Leonard Street for a family-friendly night ride through the Cape; helmets and lights required.
• Saturday Morning Slow Roll, fourth Saturday of the month. Meet-up at 2160 McGregor Blvd., Fort Myers. Recommended for inexperienced/young riders. Distance is 6 miles, includes group ride instruction.

If racing is not your thing but you’d like to support their return nonetheless, consider volunteering to help out at the few in-person offerings ahead. With Covid concerns still confining some of the usual volunteers, a few new helping hand would certainly be welcomed.

TRIATHLONS:

• 2021 St. Anthony’s Triathlon, April 25, St. Petersburg. Olympic and sprint event
• 2021 Fitness Challenge Triathlon, May 2, Naples. Reverse sprint event
• 2021 Heartland Triathlon, June 12-13, Sebring. Kid’s event Saturday, adult Olympic and sprint triathlon, duathlon and aquabike Sunday.

 

TELL US ABOUT YOUR RIDE:

Have a favorite route you like to bike, or a unique walk you’d like to share with others? Tell us about it at info@bikewalklee.org, and maybe we can feature it in an upcoming column.

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Ken Gooderham writes this on behalf of BikeWalkLee, a community coalition raising public awareness and advocating for complete streets in Lee County — streets that are designed, built, operated and maintained for safe and convenient travel for all users: pedestrians, bicyclists, motorists, and transit riders of all ages and abilities. Information, statistics and background online at www.BikeWalkLee.org.