Pedal for Public Health
Safety on Tampa’s Roadways
Soaring gas prices, negative impact by toxic emissions on air quality, and global warming are all factors that have led to Americans scrambling for alternative sources of fuel and transportation. Many people have made the choice to travel on foot or bicycle as there means of transportation. The health and protection of these pedestrians is insurmountable and falls in the Public Health domain. For this reason, our group chose to place our sticker on a bike lane sign near the intersection of Bruce B. Downs and Holly Dive. This intersection is across the street from the USF campus and is a heavily traveled area by pedestrians. Bicycle lanes have a minimal width of 1.5 meters (5 feet) against a curb or adjacent to a parking lane(FHWA BICYCLE AND PEDESTRAIN TRANSPORTAION). Streets that have bike lanes next to the curb have a 1 or 2-foot gutter pan, a gutter pan being the depression which runs alongside a city street. The lane our group examined meets minimal width standards about 5 feet wide. This means that the bike lane can be very easily overlooked if a person is not paying attention. The community of Tampa took efforts to ensure the safety of bicyclists by providing them with a bike sign, on the streets for protection in the community. Bike signs clearly indicate the roadway allowing drivers to be aware that the area is designated for the people who choose to ride a bike. In our society, bike lanes help to improve our health, and the bike sign reflects our commitment to the public and its protection. This is Public Health!!
Safety on Tampa’s Roadways
Soaring gas prices, negative impact by toxic emissions on air quality, and global warming are all factors that have led to Americans scrambling for alternative sources of fuel and transportation. Many people have made the choice to travel on foot or bicycle as there means of transportation. The health and protection of these pedestrians is insurmountable and falls in the Public Health domain. For this reason, our group chose to place our sticker on a bike lane sign near the intersection of Bruce B. Downs and Holly Dive. This intersection is across the street from the USF campus and is a heavily traveled area by pedestrians. Bicycle lanes have a minimal width of 1.5 meters (5 feet) against a curb or adjacent to a parking lane(FHWA BICYCLE AND PEDESTRAIN TRANSPORTAION). Streets that have bike lanes next to the curb have a 1 or 2-foot gutter pan, a gutter pan being the depression which runs alongside a city street. The lane our group examined meets minimal width standards about 5 feet wide. This means that the bike lane can be very easily overlooked if a person is not paying attention. The community of Tampa took efforts to ensure the safety of bicyclists by providing them with a bike sign, on the streets for protection in the community. Bike signs clearly indicate the roadway allowing drivers to be aware that the area is designated for the people who choose to ride a bike. In our society, bike lanes help to improve our health, and the bike sign reflects our commitment to the public and its protection. This is Public Health!!
This is a great example of a Public Health issue that is very relevant in our area. I personally love bike riding and would like to do it more since it is great exercise and beneficial to the environment, however I am weary of riding the streets in Tampa because I perceive it as dangerous. I have heard of many accidents which involved cyclists. But with more bike lanes like this, that are clearly labeled with signs I think people would feel a lot safer, and ride bikes more in our community.
ReplyDeleteThis is a terrific example of public health and I feel that more people should be more aware of this. My only form of transportation around campus and sometimes around campus is biking. It is very dangerous riding a bike around campus simply because there are little to no road safety and protection for bikers like myself. It is a big risk in just riding it in the bike lane which, as the group said, is too small. I had plenty of close-calls and I can't even put the blame entirely on the drivers; the quality of safety for bikers is almost non-existent in the campus. Hopefully, things will change but I hope it changes before we have unfortunate events.
ReplyDeleteI think this was a excellent choice of placing the "This is public health sticker". The bike protection sign really illustrates the protection needed for many bikers across Tampa. This sign causes less accidents, less traffic jams and deaths. I also like that the Tampa area is taking interest in people using alternative transportation means.
ReplyDeleteThis post definitely hit home for me! Just like Renard, I have had plenty of close-calls because of drivers who were not paying any attention to what was them. I also think that some drivers have no regard for walkers or bikers especially here in Tampa. For example, If I am at a pedestrian cross walk and I have to go-a-head to cross with my bike, a person with no regard to me as a pedestrian would take a right turn before I even get to completely cross the street which puts my life at risk! Maybe there should be more rigid laws on this matter. This is definitely Public Health! Great post guys!
ReplyDeleteI love this post because this is a serious public health issue in Tampa. All the streets should have bikes lane for security and to avoid accidents. In my country by law all the streets have bikes lane. I love biking so this post is a fantastic public health issue to be aware of.
ReplyDeleteI love this post! Biking is a serious problem because of the fact that bikers don't have the right amount of space that they need! And with more and more people biking and walking these days, the biking and walking paths need to be improved. Great public health issue!
ReplyDeleteYour group displayed a perfect example of how government assists in facilitating ordinances that directly impact the population's health. Bike lanes are great methods of Public health encouragement. Students like us can help decrease our carbon footprint and benefit our wallets at the same time! I especially love to see bike lanes around college campuses. They're perfect means of transportation for people living close to school or on campus. I would hate to have to get in my car and drive from the apartments on 50th just to go to the public health building across campus. Plus, the exercise that people get while riding a bike can only benefit them in the short term and our Health Care system in the long term! WIN-WIN!!
ReplyDeleteI most definitely agree that this is public health and also and issue in the Tampa Bay area. With the university, there are many students and faculty that bike to school or just simply for recreation. The first day of the fall semester, I seen two bicycle/car accidents. Just last week I witnessed a bicycle accident on Fowler at night time. I have not only witnessed these accidents first hand but also read about them and see them on the news often. Too often. Something should be done with the amount of pedestrians/bicyclist being injured/killed in the Tampa Bay area. Great job!
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