Despite a recent designation from the League of American Bicyclists, one writer argues that the city's infrastructure is failing to protect pedestrians and cyclists from dangerous car traffic.
In a guest post for the Gainesville Sun, Emily Hind questions the League of American Bicyclists' recent designation of Gainesville, Florida as a Bicycle Friendly Community at the Silver Level, citing the city's "murderously fast" traffic and three pedestrian deaths to date this year. "In 2021, Florida was rated the worst state in the nation for pedestrian deaths and the second worst for red-light running."
According to Hind, "[t]he problem is not in our individuals, but in our infrastructure." Implementing–not just adopting in name–Vision Zero policies such as reduced speed limits and protected bike lanes would keep pedestrians safe and encourage more people to walk, bike, and use transit. In addition to reducing speed limits to 20mph, Hind suggests redesigning Gainesville streets such as Northwest 16th Avenue "to provide protected space for those who want to walk and roll outside of a car. With less space given to cars, the crosswalks will be less unpredictable, in part because motorists will watch a narrower space for the warning lights, and in part because traffic, given less space, will slow."
"If it’s just about survivability, we all have to be in a car. When we add livable sustainability to our goals, we make Gainesville survivable not just for the moment, but for the children."
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