Pinellas County’s land use and transportation planning agency will be funding three local projects that make streets safer for all users. The Forward Pinellas board voted unanimously Wednesday to approve up to $1.1 million in funding for three complete streets projects: construction of sidewalks on 34th Street South in St. Petersburg, and preparing plans for…
Smart Growth America’s Dangerous by Design report released today ranks the Tampa Bay area as the seventh most dangerous metro area in the country for people walking. Despite that dubious distinction, we were encouraged to see our area’s standing in the rankings improve five spots from the past three reports. While the trend is positive,…
In the 1950s through the 1980s, the primary transportation focus was on getting people from place to place via automobile. Little attention was given to those walking or riding their bikes. Much of Pinellas County was developed during that time, and our roads and communities reflected that focus. Over the years, local governments countywide have taken…
“I ride my bike to work every day,” Justin Doyle told me while pouring beers on a hot July afternoon at the Horse and Jockey Pub in South Pasadena. He was responding to my questions about bicycling on Pasadena Avenue, where the pub is located. I’ve biked on the corridor myself many times and have…
When I started out as a newbie to the Pinellas Planning Council (PPC) and Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO), I continually heard the term “Complete Streets.” After I began to research the term and inquire about it, I was intrigued with what I learned. Complete Streets is a transportation policy and design approach that requires streets to enable…
I am a millennial. One of the 73 million born roughly between 1982 and 2001 that makes up a quarter of the population in the U.S. and the largest generation of its workforce. We are creative, multi-tasking, tech-savvy souls who love our social media. We also like living in walkable urban environments with a sense of place. When…