News-Press Editorial: Safety for pedestrians must be priority

 In response to the Dangerous by Design 2016 report ranking the Lee County metro area as the most dangerous area in the country for pedestrians, News-Press published an editorial today outlining some of the changes needed to make safety for pedestrians a priority in our area.  Kudos to the News-Press for this editorial and for their long-standing commitment to reporting on and spurring the community to act to improve pedestrian/bicyclist safety throughout Lee County.

News-Press Editorial, Jan. 26, 2017
The News-Press Editorial Board , mailbag@news-press.com


The recent news that Lee County ranks as the most dangerous of the 104 largest metro areas in the country for pedestrians probably wasn’t a surprise, but it certainly is sobering and should provide another wake-up call for officials and law enforcement to be vigilant about safety.

We have seen the statistics for years that Lee County ranked as one of the worst areas for cyclists and pedestrians, and for distracted driving, in the state. This report, released earlier this month, called "Dangerous by Design" and from the National Complete Streets Coalition, put a national perspective to our major issue. In the past nine years, 164 pedestrians have been killed in a region of about 700,000 people, including 17 in 2016. In 2016, there was a 10 percent increase in road fatalities, with 108 traffic deaths overall – the most since 2006 when 121 were killed. The deaths continued a trend from 2015 when there was an 18 percent jump in road fatalities. There were 3,213 statewide road fatalities in 2016, a continuous five-year rise from 2,430 deaths in 2012. In Lee, the 108 deaths were 44 more than in 2012.

The patterns over the past two years are alarming when you consider there were consistent decreases in fatality rates for close to 20 years, with just over one fatality per one million vehicle miles traveled in 2014.

Fatalities increase when the population grows, an improving economy means more people on the roads and drivers are negligent and distracted.

Officials must do more to change the statistics in favor of safety. Law enforcement officials must increase patrols to crack down on speeding and distracted driving. It is time to look at the ineffectiveness of the state's no texting while driving state law and upgrade the law from a secondary offense to a primary one. Only then, do we have a fighting chance to decrease road fatalities if stricter distracted driving laws are written and enforced. Florida needs to join the 46 other states that have texting while driving as a primary offense.

The national coalition, which includes Smart Growth America and AARP, used data from 2005 to 2014, and there have been improvements to safety for cyclists and pedestrians in our area. A $10 million federal grant in Lee Metropolitan Planning Organization's Complete Streets project has been completed with 13 additional miles of walking and biking infrastructure throughout the county. Cape Coral was recently awarded $6 million in state funds to build shared use paths and sidewalks on Kismet Parkway. This follows an awarding winning, 90-mile, bike-pedestrian route built throughout the city.

We compliment the Florida Highway Patrol for announcing this week the renewal of the Arrive Alive campaign, which it started 46 years ago, focusing not only on writing tickets, but also educating motorists and targeting intersections where fatal crashes occur more frequently and putting infrastructure in place to make those roads more safe. FHP plans to target U.S. 41, State Road 82 and I-75.

But this also is a call to government officials to make sure all new road designs and expansion of existing roadways use the complete or smart streets concept. All major roads should include a design for wide bike paths with a buffer from traffic and pedestrian sidewalks.

BikeWalkLee, an organization focused on bringing awareness and solutions to the importance of safe roads for everyone, recently completed a walking audit of the safeness of roads in Lee County. The organization partnered with Goodwill Industries of Southwest Florida and FGCU, working with a grant from the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation through the Southwest Florida Community Foundation.

The report, released last week, focused on the communities of Tice and Dunbar with audit participants walking the areas. They engaged with community members during their walks and assessed the areas.

The 59 participants who completed the research, discovered:

• The significant need for street lighting throughout Tice and Dunbar.
• The need to improve, or install accessible features required by the Americans with Disabilities Act.
• The need for bike lanes.
• Improved maintenance of sidewalks and crosswalks.
• Widespread street flooding – especially in Tice - encroaching into sidewalks and crosswalks.
  
   This audit should help local government officials determine where best to invest infrastructure money to help make necessary neighborhood improvements.

Ranking as the deadliest area in the country for anything is cause for alarm, and we hope local officials will take this latest report on the county’s deplorable safety record seriously and immediately begin assessing its infrastructure, addressing the continuing need for safe and smart streets and educating those who use the road – motorists, cyclists and pedestrians – on the importance of following the law.

Those who live and visit here will feel much better and safer if by 2019 when the next coalition report on safety is expected to be released, we are far away from being the most dangerous in America for pedestrians.

Streetsblog USA highlights success of News-Press "Share the Road FL" campaign

Great to see national blog highlight the positive work by the News-Press "Share the Road Florida" team.  

Streetsblog USA, Jan. 6, 2016: 

What Happened When a Newspaper Became an Advocate for Bicyclists

by Angie Schmitt

In too many cities, newspaper coverage of bicycling has stoked some of the darker aspects of human nature.Opinion pieces about bike lanes tend to cater to the reactionary opposition, goading the trolls of the comments section, where casual death threats are standard fare.

But a newspaper in South Florida has taken a very different approach over the last few years, unabashedly advocating for safer streets for cycling. And it’s earning accolades in the process.

The News-Press in the Fort Myers, Florida, region won praised from the Columbia Journalism Review and local safety advocates for its “Share the Road” series, highlighting the danger faced by cyclists in a deadly corner of the deadliest state for biking.

News-Press reporters Janine Zeitlin (center) and Laura Ruane (right) accept an award for their coverage of bike safety issues in South Florida.  Photo: Florida Department of Health via News-Press

Starting in the summer of 2014, News-Press reporters have shed light on bicyclist fatalities on local roads, and what can be done to stop the loss of life.

In the year the series launched, eight cyclists were killed in Lee County (population 661,000), the News-Press reported. By comparison, in Portland (population 609,000), one cyclist was killed in 2014 and zero in 2013.

The News-Press dug into the problem, running a feature on each of the 12 people killed while biking in Lee and Collier counties, which include the communities of Naples, Cape Coral, and Fort Myers. These areas are both huge tourist destinations and home to lots of low-income workers and immigrants. The roads are notoriously dangerous for people walking or biking.

Led by reporter Janine Zeitlin, who used to bike but stopped because it felt too risky, the News-Press combed through data about what was causing the collisions. Among the factors they identified: “wide and fast roadways,” “lagging infrastructure and laws,” “bad drivers,” and “lack of safety education.”

The report found most collisions were caused by a driver’s failure to yield — not red-light-running cyclists. But fines for drivers who killed cyclists were often menial, usually capped at $1,000. Florida’s safety laws are way behind other states. And almost a quarter of traffic collisions in the state are hit-and-runs, the News-Press revealed.

News-Press reporters became advocates for safe cycling conditions. Zeitlin started an online group called “Share the Road” to promote the stories and share articles from other sources related to bike safety.

 

The News-Press mapped the most dangerous locations for cyclists

Now, local advocates are saying the all the attention might to be paying off. The News-Press series coincided with multiple advances for cycling in southeast Florida. The Florida DOT recently released its implementation plan for a new complete streets policy aimed at addressing the state’s position as the most deadly for walking. Meanwhile, biking and walking advocates working with local officials helped secure a $10.4 million federal TIGER grant to build a network of safe bikeways throughout Lee County.

After a look at the 2015 data showed a decline in cycling fatalities, the News-Press wrote: “While it’s too soon to declare a road culture shift, the climate is looking less grim for bicyclists.”

Darla LeTourneau of the local advocacy group BikeWalkLee said the newspaper’s coverage, combined with the state’s efforts, appears to be helping, although there’s still a lack of leadership at the county level. In 2014, for example, 35 percent of the region’s traffic fatalities were bicyclists and pedestrians. In 2015, that number dropped to 20 percent. Of course that’s just one year of data and not a trend, but it’s encouraging nonetheless, LeTourneau says.

“It just raises the profile” of the issue, she said of the News-Press series. “When you’re able to report, then elected officials think, ‘I need to be doing something about this, and I’m going to get credit or blame.'”

“I think by having comprehensive, in-depth really well-done coverage, which they’ve done for two years now… there’s more attention paid to the problem, to solution, to the impact on real people.”

Is Lee, Collier becoming safer for cyclists?

News-Press continues their "Share the Road Florida" campaign with another excellent article looking back on SWFL bike/ped safety in 2015 and finds indications of improvement.  The article includes interviews with BWL, NPC, FHP, and SAJD.  As Jay Anderson of SAJD says, "Change comes with awareness over time."  Let's keep the awareness front and center in 2016 as we continue our marathon to safer streets for all users.

News-Press Jan. 5, 2015 by Janine Zeitlin
http://www.news-press.com/story/news/2016/01/04/lee-collier-getting-safer-cyclists-cycling-florida/78052160/

For the first time in years, numbers reflect some curtailing of the bike crash crisis.

(Photo: Kinfay Moroti/news-press.com)

SERIES: Share the Road Florida

Remember the woman who reportedly spat on a Naples bicyclist after driving into him?
Or the man who plowed into bicyclists on Fort Myers Beach? In the bloody aftermath, reports said he told a doctor, “I should have hit them harder.”
Then, there was the guy who shot at a cyclist in Cape Coral who asked him to slow down.
That all happened in 2014, a year of horror stories for bicyclists in Southwest Florida.
It was the same year Lee County hit a 14-year high for bike injuries and ranked third in the state for bicyclist fatalities. Florida is the most lethal state in the nation for bicyclists.

The sorry state of safety galvanized advocates, some local cities and politicians, law enforcement and the media toward solutions. The News-Press began its Share the Road campaign in 2014.

Then came 2015, and while it’s too soon to declare a road culture shift, the climate is looking less grim for bicyclists.

“We’ve broken through in terms of the community conversation about it,” said Darla Letourneau of the coalition BikeWalkLee.

It’s the first time in recent years that there hasn’t been a sharp increase in bike crashes in Lee County even as the number of overall traffic crashes spiked to total more than 10,000. (Though bike crashes represent only about 2 percent of overall traffic crashes, bicyclists, like walkers or motorcyclists, are prone to life-altering injuries when struck.)

Bike crashes dropped in Collier County from 137 to 100, hitting the lowest total since 2011.
There's also been fewer high-profile criminal reports of drivers intentionally targeting bicyclists.

SWFL Critical Mass bike riders  (Photo: News-Press)

“There are still very many people who believe that bicyclists don’t belong on the roads but, compared to a year ago, there are more people that understand that bicyclists have a right to be there and are going to be there,” said Ted Zelman, a Naples attorney who represents bike crash victims and is on the board of Naples Velo bike club.

He rides about four times a week.

“You get honked at less and fewer cars are buzzing you.”

Beth Brainard, executive director of the Naples Pathways Coalition, notices that more, even most, drivers now give bicyclists the three feet of space mandated by Florida law. That courtesy was not the norm two years ago, she said.

Photo: Kinfay Moroti/news-press.com

Zelman and Brainard pointed to a 2014 bike crash that seriously injured well-known Naples lawyer Chuck Kelly as one rallying point for change. The driver received a $170 fine for what was perceived as reckless driving.

Brainard also credited awareness-builders such as, NPC’s Share the Road rides, bike-friendly signage and infrastructure, media coverage and the legislative push from Rep. Kathleen Passidomo to better protect vulnerable road users. Passidomo’s law partner is Chuck Kelly. His wife, Tish, has been instrumental in lobbying for steeper penalties for drivers who injure riders, motorcyclists and walkers.

There’s also been a push for improvements in Lee County, which has ranked in the top 10 in the state for bike and pedestrian crashes. Cape Coral leaders and advocates pulled together to map out safer and scenic bike routes. A Cape Coral Bike-Ped volunteer says it's led to more people riding.
Florida Highway Patrol has been visiting high schools, doing quarterly outreach in hot-spots and installing bike lights to increase visibility. Fort Myers Police and the Lee County Sheriff’s Office received grants for bicyclist and pedestrian outreach. The progress has been notable in cities like Naples and Cape Coral, which recently received coveted bike-friendly awards from the League of American Bicyclists.

(Photo: Kinfay Moroti/news-press.com)

Change comes with awareness over time, said Jay Anderson, executive director of Fort Myers-based Stay Alive … Just Drive! and a driving instructor.

“If you keep it out in the forefront and you make people aware, hopefully when you’re driving down that road and you do see that bicyclist, instead of people saying, ‘Those idiots don’t belong on the road’ you give them more room.”

As of late December, state data showed 226 Lee bike crashes in 2015, about the same number as 2014. Deaths dropped from 9 in 2014 to 4 in 2015.

Letourneau was cautiously optimistic about the figures given assumptions that the population is growing, as are the number of people walking and biking.

 (Pedestrian crashes in Lee and Collier did increase somewhat over the past year.)

But road design is still a worry. Florida’s fast, wide roads are often blamed for making it so perilous to walk and bike. Intersections are particularly dangerous. Lt. Greg Bueno of Florida Highway Patrol said a common local crash happens when a driver turning right fails to watch for a walker or bicyclist coming the other way.

Letourneau praised the Florida Department of Transportation for its recently released complete streets implementation plan, which will change the way state roads are planned and designed and make those roads safer for all users. Lee County and its cities have adopted complete streets policies but have lagged in on-the-ground changes.

Research has shown it’s safer to walk and bike in places where more people bike and walk so a not-so-horrible year could bring more positive ones.  Yet, one year does not signal a trend.

“That’s our hope,” said Lt. Bueno, “but we also know from years past how quickly it can fluctuate the other way.”
 

Share the Road

THE NEWS-PRESS

Florida bike crashes: 7 things that may shock you

Paths of peril

 

News-Press Christmas "thank you" editorial includes bike/ped safety and complete streets efforts

Thanks to News-Press for their inclusion of the work by BikeWalkLee and many others to promote complete streets and bike/ped safety, as part of their "thank you" editorial.  We are so grateful for the News-Press' in-depth coverage of bike safety issues over the past two years and look forward to their continued coverage of the broad community efforts to make SWFL a bike/ped-friendly community.

News-Press editorial: Merry Christmas from us to you, Dec. 25, 2015

http://www.news-press.com/story/opinion/2015/12/24/merry-christmas-us-you/77876264/

Although the weather seems to have missed the memo that this is the holiday season and temperatures shouldn’t be July like, The News-Press Media Group and all of its employees wish residents of Southwest Florida a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

As anxious children rush from their rooms today to open presents and dolls, trucks, bicycles, computer games, and new IPhones reveal themselves to the joy of smiles, as churches fill to hear a meaningful Christmas message and as families gather to share memories of Christmases past and look forward to what 2016 may bring, we all give thanks for what 2015 gave us, like:

The thousands of volunteers that make a difference every day in our community.
The tremendous work done by United Way as it eagerly approaches its goal of $9.2 million that will help so many member agencies and those in need.

The efforts of those who work each day to promote safety for those who walk and cycle on our community streets. The efforts of BikeWalkLee to bring knowledge and awareness to the importance of safe roads, and the commitment of The News-Press, its past efforts and our future work, to promote the importance of Smart streets.

Click here to continue reading the editorial: http://www.news-press.com/story/opinion/2015/12/24/merry-christmas-us-you/77876264/

News-Press editorial: Cape deserving of bike paths honor

 News-Press editorial 11/19/15
http://www.news-press.com/story/opinion/2015/11/18/cape-deserving-bike-paths-honor/76003538/

We applaud Cape Coral for its ongoing efforts to improve bicycle safety that have resulted in the city achieving national recognition as a Bicycle Friendly Community.

A beautifully planned network of interconnected paths for cyclists and pedestrians, covering 90 miles, is the reason the Cape joins only 351 other communities in the nation earning bronze-level designation as a Bicycle Friendly Community by the League of American Bicyclists. Impressively, the city is no resting on what it has already accomplished. Officials and residents are moving forward with a vision and plan that will expand paths, provide bicycle targeted education classes for specific demographic groups, build complete roads that allow for pedestrian/bicycle paths, and continue to seek grants for “high visibility” enforcement and the use of bicycles by police officers.

The city, as well as Carolyn Conant, who is a major reason the city is becoming the place to ride and walk for the region and is the driving force behind the Cape Coral Bike Ped organization and the future development of a master plan (buoyed by Metropolitan Planning Organization funding), along with many others, have made this vision a reality. Cape Coral Bike Ped and the city continue to seek ways to improve safety, tourism and the economy. Its commitment to bicycle safety and awareness is doing just that.

“Our community has really pulled together to make Cape Coral a place where people want to come live, work and play,” said Conant, whose group raised $115,000 over six months to help pay for signs along the seven bike path routes that make up the 90 miles, and also received in-kind contributions from the city to help make and erect the signs, helping reduce costs by over $300,000.

The positive realities of this effort are vital because of the tragic realities of the past and no doubt ones that will occur in the future if other communities in the region do not step up and roll out similar plans. Florida is the deadliest state in the country for cyclists and pedestrians and Lee ranks among the top counties in the state for deaths.

Cape is setting a wonderful example and people are taking notice. Bike Ped has distributed over 30,000 brochures on the city's bike safety efforts to various visitor centers throughout the state "and they are flying off the shelves," Conant said.

People can learn more about Bike Ped's efforts at an 8:30 a.m. meeting today at the Team Aubuchon Building in downtown Cape's Club Square or on the city's website, where a GPS interactive map on the city's bike paths, is available at capecoral.net/bicycling. We encourage more communities in Southwest Florida to develop and execute master plans that look at expanding current roadways with paths, include complete streets in its future road building projects, initiate educational campaigns that focus on fitness and safety and encourage more residents to leave their vehicles in the driveway and pedal and walk to their destinations. 

What people are saying about the designation:

FDOT District One Secretary Billy Hattaway
“As the champion for the FDOT Bike Ped Safety Initiative and Complete Streets effort, I’d like to congratulate the city of Cape Coral for making the kind of concerted efforts being rewarded by this recognition."

Tamara Pigott, executive director for the Lee County Visitor & Convention Bureau
"Most people who visit Southwest Florida want to spend time outdoors. This impressive bicycle-friendly designation is an asset to the entire community. Safe biking paths offer locals and visitors the chance to spend even more time exploring our slice of paradise.

Bill Nesper, vice president of programs at the League of American Bicyclists
“We applaud the visionary leaders and dedicated citizens of Cape Coral for making bicycling a safe and convenient option to transportation and recreation.

Marni Sawicki, Cape Coral mayor
"Our goal has been to create safer bicycling opportunities in our community, and we have made significant strides toward that goal, thanks to our partnership with Cape Coral Bike Ped."

News-Press: Naples, Cape Coral earn bike-friendly awards

It's a great day for SWFL, with 2 new communities--Cape Coral and Naples--receiving Bicycle Friendly Community (BCF) "Bronze" designations today.  They join Sanibel--a Silver BFC--and Venice (Silver) making 4 SWFL communities with BFC status.  It was exciting to see that 3 of the 18 newly recognized communities are in Florida (and two of the three in SWFL).

News-Press 11/16/15, by Janine Zeitlin

http://www.news-press.com/story/news/2015/11/16/naples-cape-coral-receive-bike-friendly-awards/75874702/

Photo by News-Press

The national designations show commitments to making biking safer, an issue of concern in Southwest Florida.

For the first time, Naples and Cape Coral earned coveted bike-friendly designations.

The national designations announced today show commitments to making biking safer, an issue of grave concern in Southwest Florida. This area has ranked in the top 10 in the state for bicyclist fatalities and crashes. Last year, Lee County ranked third for the number of bicyclist fatalities in Florida, the most lethal state in the nation for bicyclists.

Naples and Cape Coral received bronze awards from the League of American Bicyclists and joined Sanibel Island, which is ranked silver, among 19 bike-friendly communities in Florida.

"Winning a Bicycle Friendly Community designation shows a community's dedication to creating safer and better places to ride your bike," said Alex Doty, executive director of the League of American Bicyclists in a press release.

For Naples, the designation reflects the city’s investment in bicycling promotion, education programs, infrastructure and pro-bicycling policies, said the Naples Pathways Coalition.

Naples Mayor John Sorey said in a press release the city “fully supports the creation of a safe, bikeable community and has committed resources to make significant improvements by retrofitting streets with bike lanes, installing green boxes" and developing easily understood signage to mark cycling routes.

Naples' bicycle friendly team includes: co-chairs Andrew Holland and Beth Brainard, Alan Ryker, Doug Newman, Jane Cheffy, Michelle McLeod, Leslee Dulmer, Buddy Bonollo, and Alison Bickett.

Cape Coral will host an awards presentation for its designation at 4:30 p.m. its city council meeting.

The awards are decided through voluntary applications. Throughout the nation, 371 communities have received bike-friendly designations from the biking advocacy and education group. They often become ways to promote the sustainability of a community to potential residents and visitors.

For more than a year, The News-Press has also made a commitment to safer streets for bicyclists through its Share the Road series. Join the conversation at the Share the Road Florida Facebook page.

News-Press honored for 'groundbreaking' bike series

Congratulations to the News-Press "Share the Road Florida" bike safety team for the statewide recognition of their outstanding work. 

 

News-Press, Nov. 15, 2015 

http://www.news-press.com/story/news/2015/11/14/news-press-honored-ground-breaking-bike-series/75810186/

By JANINE ZEITLIN and LAURA RUANE,

"The News-Press has helped to set an agenda for action that will make Lee County safer for bicyclists and pedestrians."

(Photo: Doris Bloodsworth/City of Clermont)

The News-Press was one of seven honored Saturday for being champions of bicycle and pedestrian safety at the Share the Road awards in Clermont.
“This sterling example of public service journalism, with its in-depth reportage, The News-Press has helped to set an agenda for action that will make Lee County safer for bicyclists and pedestrians,” said Tim Bustos, who presented the award to project writers, Janine Zeitlin and Laura Ruane.

Bustos is on the board of Bike Florida, which hosted the awards at part of its Share The Road Celebration of Cycling.

Andrew West, Wes Hulette, Steve McQuilkin, Melanie Payne, Tom Hayden and Juan Buitrago, among others, also made up The News-Press Share the Road project team.

Bike Florida is an organization with the goal to promote safe and responsible bicycling through awareness, education and bicycle touring.

It was the first time a media organization was honored with the award.

“We created it especially to honor the groundbreaking work of The News-Press,” said a press release from Bike Florida.

See BikeWalkLee's Oct. 12th blog announcing the awards.

News-Press "Share the Road Florida" safety campaign wins Florida award

Kudos to the News-Press "Share the Road Florida" bike safety team, led by Janine Zeitlin for the statewide recognition of their outstanding work.  Congratulations to the other award winners, including FDOT District 1 Secretary Billy Hattaway, recognized for his visionary leadership.

Janine Zeitlin and Laura Ruane of News-Press team

 Click here to continue reading about the other three award winners.


News-Press 10/9/15 article about the award:  News-Press bicycle safety campaign scores Florida award