Florida
Basics
Florida DOT Gets Much-Deserved Mockery for Failing to Make Bridges Safe for Cycling
A protected bike lane on every bridge. That's the kind of policy that could make a real difference for Florida and improve the state's terrible bike safety record. But it's still just a dream.
July 31, 2017
Why Are Florida’s Streets So Deadly for Cycling?
A recent study funded by the Florida Department of Transportation takes an in-depth look at why the state's streets are so deadly -- and what can be done to change that.
July 21, 2017
Miami Beach Wants Affordable Housing, But Won’t Remove Parking to Get It
Putting housing on top of parking garages, rather than replacing car storage with housing, would be a missed opportunity for walkable Miami Beach.
June 5, 2017
Can America’s Most Dangerous Place to Walk Change Its Streets?
The most dangerous metro area in America for walking is Fort Myers, Florida. The area has a committed group of reformers who've been making some strides, but a recent report shows more must be done.
January 20, 2017
Streets Without Sidewalks Are Killing Florida Pedestrians
Florida is the most dangerous state in the nation for pedestrians, according to Transportation for America. More than 5,100 people were killed while walking in the state between 2003 and 2010, and four Florida cities rated among T4A's list of the most dangerous for walking.
August 9, 2016
Massive Highway Expansion Threatens to Destroy Tampa Neighborhoods
Most people still think of Tampa as a sprawling, car-centric town, but that is starting to change. In 2014, Smart Growth America [PDF] found that Tampa is shifting toward a more walkable development pattern. The city is starting to build out a bicycle network, and its Riverwalk project is bringing people out to stroll downtown.
June 21, 2016
Huh? After Bailing Out Toll Road, Florida Wants to Expand It
By any reasonable measure, the Suncoast Parkway in the Tampa Bay Area has been a complete failure.
February 18, 2016
Highway Boondoggles: Tampa Bay Express Lanes
In a new report, Highway Boondoggles 2 (the original came out in 2014), U.S. PIRG and the Frontier Group teamed up to profile the most wasteful highway projects that state DOTs are building. Streetsblog will be serializing the case studies in the report. Yesterday, we looked at Connecticut's $11.5 billion I-95 widening. Today, we focus on a proposed $3.3 billion highway widening in Tampa.
January 20, 2016
What Happened When a Newspaper Became an Advocate for Bicyclists
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.
January 6, 2016
Meet the Man on a Mission to Make Florida Walkable and Bikeable
Billy Hattaway just might have the most challenging job in any American transportation agency. As the Florida Department of Transportation's lead official on bicycle and pedestrian safety, he's charged with making Florida -- consistently rated among the deadliest states for walking and biking -- safe for people to get around under their own power.
March 30, 2015