Florida Pedestrian Safety Problems

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Florida Pedestrian Safety Problems Solutions

• An Overview

Pat Pieratte, Florida DOT
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Florida Pedestrian Problems

• Fatalities-high number rate (2004)
• 2nd to California in number (493 fatalities)
• 2nd to New Mexico in rate (2.83 fat per 100K pop)
• 15.2 of Floridas traffic fatalities (10.9 in
  US)
• 10.6 of all ped fatalities in the US
• Most of Florida built post-WWII
• Sprawl
• More traffic
• Faster traffic

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Florida Pedestrian Solutions

• 3E Approach
• Education
• Enforcement
• Engineering
• Planning

• Funding
• Regular FDOT
• Traffic Safety Grant
• Strategic Highway Safety Plan

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Florida Pedestrian SolutionsRegular FDOT

• Education
• Traffic Safety
• Education Program
• Florida School Crossing Guard Program
• (only statewide program)

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Florida Pedestrian SolutionsRegular FDOT

• Engineering Planning
• Design Standards
• Including Ped accommodations in applicable
  projects
• District Bike/Ped Coordinators in all 7 Districts
• Benchmarks
• Bike Facilities Study just finished
• Ped Facilities Study to follow

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Florida Pedestrian Solutions Traffic Safety Grants

• Sections 402, 163
• Categories Allowed
• Education
• Enforcement
• Planning (not Eng)

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Growth of Ped/Bike Grants in FL

• 402 200,000 in FY 93,
• 1,225,000 in FY 05 (613 increase)
• 163 500,000 in FY 99-06
• 402 163 1,725,000,
• (853 increase since 1993)

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Education Grants

• FL Bicycle Association
• Pro-Bike/Pro-Walk FL
• Ped. Law Enf Guide
• Senior Activity Video
• Local Traffic Safety Education Programs
• 4 Co. funded in 2005

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Education Grants (PIE)

• Share the Road Tag created in 1999
• Statewide Share the Road Campaign
• Almost 450 K raised so far 335 K for Bike/Ped
  Projects (mostly Bike)
• So. FL PIE Campaign this yr statewide next yr

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Education Enforcement Grants

• Statewide Ped/Bike Law Enforcement Courses
  taught thru T-Square
• Local Education Enforcement Grants Two
  Counties in 2005

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Planning Grants

• FSU Projects
• Statewide BPAC
• Livable Communities Training
• Safe Ways to School Task Force
• Bicycle/Pedestrian Safety Plan

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Planning Grants, cont.

• UF GIS Programs
• Courses on GIS
• Crash Mapping
• Ped/ Bike Toolkit
• Analyze crashes
• Develop better countermeasures

Daytona Beach
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Planning Grants, cont.

• Connecting People
• Resources
• Asst. Pedestrian/ Bicycle Coordinator
• Pedestrian Safety Resource Center

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Statewide Planning Grants

• Phone survey on bike/ped facilities
• 69 would like to live where more daily needs
  could be met by walking
• 69 felt govt. should spend more on ped
  facilities
• 93 felt ped facilities add value to their
  community
• 19 of urban bike lanes are designated
  (facilities study) but 92-96 of residents think
  they should be.

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Local Planning Grants

• Bike/Ped Coordinators
• Clearwater
• St. Petersburg
• Ft. Lauderdale
• Other
• District 7 Nebraska Ave Bike/Ped Study
• Volusia Co. School 3E Program

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Florida Strategic Highway Safety Plan

• What more can be done to reduce traffic
  fatalities serious injuries?
• 2-day brainstorming meeting of 40 FDOT staff
• Adopted February 2003
• Largely up to Districts
• Facilitated by Central Office

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Florida Strategic Highway Safety Plan

• Keep Vehicles in Proper Travel Lane
• Improve Safety of Intersections
• Intersection safety education program
• Install Ped signal Educational plaques
• Improve Access Management
• Improve Information and Decision Support
• Improve Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety
• Identify high ped/bike crash corridors develop
  3E countermeasures
• Identify ped/bike facility gaps develop
  projects
• Implement a comprehensive ped/bike traffic ed
  program in at least 3 new schools/year

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Florida Strategic Highway Safety Plan

• 5 Million per District (35 Million per year
  statewide) for two years none for 06
• With 3 of the 7 Districts reporting
• 4 sidewalk project done (3.5 mi) 6 more planned
  (8 mi)
• 3 lighting projects done (14 mi) 9 more planned
  (35 mi)
• 8 ped signal or other ped intersection
  improvements planned
• 1 Dist ped countdown signals on all State Roads
• 1 Dist red light enforcement lights on all SRs

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For Additional Information

• Pat Pieratte
• Pedestrian Bicycle Safety Specialist
• 850-245-1529
• Pat.pieratte_at_dot.state.fl.us
• www.dot.state.fl.us/safety