PINELLAS COUNTY, FL —- The St. Pete Beach City Commission is the first to adopt a resolution to work with Forward Pinellas toward a goal of zero deaths and serious injuries in Pinellas County by 2045. The city is currently discussing how they can implement the Safe Streets Pinellas Action Plan through local transportation projects to ensure everyone is safe on our roadways in Pinellas County.
Michelle Gonzalez, St. Pete Beach Community Development Director, pointed out, “107 people lost their lives last year on Pinellas County roadways. In addition to the extreme emotional economic costs of this loss of life, there are costs to taxpayers for emergency services and long-term health care. With planning and analysis, we hope to reach our goal of zero deaths and long-term injuries by 2045, making our area an even safer place to reside, work, and visit.”
Mayor Alan Johnson added, “Our aim is transportation that is safe for everyone. St. Pete Beach is the first area to endorse the Safe Streets Pinellas Action Plan. We’re working with Forward Pinellas to develop a safety strategy through collision assessment, identifying a high injury network where crashes occur repeatedly, and deploying countermeasures to make the roadways safer. A major concern for us in St. Pete Beach is vehicle and pedestrian (or bike) accidents. These ‘unprotected populations’ (those without the safety of a vehicle surrounding them) are most in jeopardy during a collision.”
St. Pete Beach committed to:
- Adopt a goal of zero deaths on our roadways by 2045
- Support the implementation of Safe Streets Pinellas
- Incorporate Safe Streets into its plans and policies
- Participate in the Safe Streets Pinellas Working Group to coordinate safety improvements
Vice Mayor Ward Friszolowski said, “We want everyone to be safe on roadways but that is especially true of our residents and visitors who enjoy St. Pete Beach for the walkable area that it is. Eliminating accidents by assessing the most dangerous areas and creating a transportation plan for improvement is something that will make St. Pete Beach–and Pinellas County–more inviting than it already is. No one wants to feel unsafe when driving, riding, or walking and we’re going to ensure everyone has the safety confidence to enjoy our city.”
The Forward Pinellas Board adopted the Safe Streets Action Plan in March 2021 and is actively seeking support from other agencies on committing to zero deaths and serious injuries by 2045 and supporting the Safe Streets Pinellas Action Plan, a Vision Zero effort. Forward Pinellas will also be forming the Safe Streets Pinellas Working Group later this year to provide guidance from a range of community partners.
For more information about Safe Streets Pinellas, visit forwardpinellas.org/safestreets
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