Jacksonville is fourth most deadly city for pedestrians

[cayohueso]

None of this is new to anyone brave enough to use "alternative" modes of transportation in Jacksonville (i.e. bikes, feet, boards, scooters, etc...). Back in the day (early 90's) I rode my bike to work almost everyday (Cedar Hills to downtown). I was always a target for thrown burgers, chucked batteries and even a dirty diaper one time because Jax driver's HATE all that AIN'T them. Even then, they HATE other driver's too. I never wore spandex or rode a road bike. Just trying to get to work the way I wanted to...trying to exercise freedom of choice...stupid me.

However, I was in a place worse for pedestrians than Florida last year...on a paid vacation from Uncle Sam in Baghdad. Of course, some of the pedestrians there blow up too, so go figure.

[lindab]

During the short time I was on the TPOs BPAC, now defunct, I started an informal count of pedestrian and bicycle deaths in the First Coast area as reported in the media. I did this because it is hard to get a count from our agencies who keep official records.

In 2009 from January to April, I counted 7 pedestrian deaths and 3 bicyclist deaths. Unfortunately, I did not do this for very long so my counts are not significant. There are many reasons that pedestrian deaths are so high in Florida but the bad thing is that there is very little concern about changing the statistics.

[mtraininjax]

5 points is NOT a roundabout. It needs to be expanded to make people who want to turn from Park left onto Margaret, go around the intersection. I'd like to see them expand it and make it larger.

[danno]

5 points is NOT a roundabout. It needs to be expanded to make people who want to turn from Park left onto Margaret, go around the intersection. I'd like to see them expand it and make it larger.

I have been saying that for years. Though from what I have seen so far people can't handle roundabouts  here either.

[CS Foltz]

I guess no one has been up Hilton Head Island of late..............got more than enough "Roundabouts" to control traffic and with the speeds posted, they appear to work well from there..........Hutchison, Kansas same thing! They do the job, which is to control traffic movement from one direction to another and no traffic light is needed!

[lindab]

Roundabouts can help slow traffic but pedestrian safety and bicycle safety begins with the idea that walking and cycling are valid means, even desirable means, of getting around not a substitute for cars.

Parents see how unsafe roads are for children to bike on and feel compelled to drive kids to school. How much better for every child if the option to bike to school and around the neighborhood could be made safe and convenient. Getting around by bike and on foot gives each child a sense of independence and responsibility. This certainly applies to older persons who might not want to drive or be capable of driving.

Traffic laws allow motorists to turn right on red lights. Many pedestrians are bumped or bumped off by right turning cars in urban areas despite pedestrian walk signals and crosswalks.

Sidewalk availability encourages walking especially in dense urbanizing areas. Modeling safe walking behaviour (not darting out into traffic but crossing in safe zones and being alert to motorist's visual problems and distractions when walking at night) is something not seen in Jacksonville because so few people walk any distance or walk with their children. And yet, at some point in life or time, we are all pedestrians.

Finally, strict enforcement of traffic laws. This applies to motorists and cyclists and pedestrians. Few people even know what the laws say about the rights of pedestrians or cyclists. Some enforcement and safety officers do not know the laws. When incidents occur, leniency of the courts undermines the laws that exist. 

Could we do this? You bet!  In many cases, the cost would not be great to make the change. Will we?

[brainstormer]

The ranking doesn't surprise me one bit.  This city has been built with absolutely zero thought to modes of transportation other than cars.  Hundreds of subdivisions in the city have no sidewalks, or substandard sidewalks on only one side.  Public transportation options other than bus are non-existent and every roadway that is rebuilt or expanded rarely includes bike lanes or wide enough sidewalks to accommodate and encourage safe walking and biking.  The city is so spread out that everyone drives everywhere and because of this the number of posted speed limits above 30-35 is excessive compared to other cities our size.  The city does not promote and encourage safety for bikers or pedestrians, hence the "throwing dirty diapers" attitude by every citizen who was raised here.  I am not the only transplant who has been disappointed after moving here by the intolerance of others.  As someone else posted, even downtown when turning left or right on green, people honk at you while crossing in the sidewalk.  
If we look at communities like Springfield and Riverside, many sidewalks are in poor condition.  I often see parents with strollers walking in the street because the sidewalks are too broken for their children to ride over.  How unfortunate that state laws prevent bike lanes on streets like Main Street.  This would have been the perfect street for separate bike lanes, allowing safe access for bikers to get from 8th to downtown.  
I think it is too late for Florida to do anything.  The build fast, no restrictions, we love cheap developers growth attitude of the state is pretty consistent throughout, and I expect Florida cities to top the list for years to come.  Sadly that ranking comes with the death of many innocent residents.

[CS Foltz]

brainstormer...........nice synopsis of the new "Florida way of life"! Everything appears to be geared towards developement and more! We appear to have lost contact with what brought most of us to Florida to start with.

[urbaknight]

I think that we should demand our city officials to halt and cancel all road widening projects (with the exception of highways and interchanges) and favor the construction of commuter rail, more convenient bus routs, and of course, the expansion of the Skyway. If we do that, there would be more than enough money and, it might be even cheaper than making room for more bad drivers!

[tufsu1]

Unfortunately it is not that simple....funds come from the City, State, and Federal governments....and I can assure you that folks at the state and Federal level will not allow all the money raised from gas taxes to be spent on transit.

[Ocklawaha]

I love pedestrians, fried, baked, or broiled.

OCKLAWAHA

[lindab]

I love pedestrians, fried, baked, or broiled.

OCKLAWAHA

That is just exactly what we thought! 

[Jaxson]

Speaking of Park Street, my biggest pet peeve occurs in Five Points.  It irks me whenever drivers on Park Street come to a stop at the intersection.  Usually, I can tell by looking at the license plate that they are not from Duval.  But, really?  There's no stop sign for motorists going north through the area.  Stand by Wendy's for a few minutes and you are bound to see at least one person who decides to ignorantly hold up traffic.

[Reaper man]

I love pedestrians, fried, baked, or broiled.

OCKLAWAHA

As someone with no car, all I have to say is.... D:

(don't eat me.... ;_;)