This week, the City of Tampa set an ambitious goal to eliminate all driving, biking, and pedestrian-related injuries and fatalities within the next three decades.
Meet the first-ever Citywide Mobility Plan — Tampa MOVES —which has a $2 billion budget.
For some background, U.S. News & World Report ranked the Cigar City in the top 15 for most dangerous for drivers.
The plan
In a press conference, Council Member Alan Clendenin said, “We are going to repave roads. We are going to create sidewalks. We are going to create safer cross-sections for people to cross our streets. And that, to me, is one of the most important things for the folks that actually live in the City of Tampa.”
Some of the main priorities include:
- Adding new bicycle lanes
- Improving existing sidewalks
- Resurfacing sections of roads at a time
According to the 104-page document, adding bike lanes around town will help connect community members to different parts of the City.
It’s easy math. Making Tampa more walkable + bikeable would also reduce the number of cars on the road and the average driving commute time — from 25 minutes to 15, according to WFLA.
The City and local volunteers paint street murals in high-traffic areas to help drivers pay attention to the roads.
Photo via City of Tampa
While some of these projects aren’t pennied in to start this year (or the next 29), the City is still actively trying to fix its problems using Quick Builds.
The program uses materials like paint, signs, and pavement markings to quickly and cheaply execute safety projects on a short-term scope.
Pedal to the metal
There’s no time to get ahead of the biking curve like the present. Help solve Tampa’s traffic congestion problem — and support local business owners — by stopping by one of these local bike shops:
- City Bike Tampa, 208 E. Cass St.
- South Tampa Bicycle Co., 3431 S. West Shore Blvd.
- Oliver’s Cycle Sports, 18055 Highwoods Preserve Pkwy.
And if you’re looking for other biking gear, we put together a guide to local + helpful swag here.
Watch Mayor Jane Castor’s entire news conference from Tuesday morning for more details on Tampa MOVES.
