TAMPA, Fla. — When it comes to improving road safety in Tampa, city leaders have pledged to do their best to eliminate deadly and severe injury car crashes. It’s a strategy called “Vision Zero.”
“We are among the worst. We are among the least safe,” Vik Bhide, the director of the city's mobility department, said. “Tampa Bay as a whole is compared, and we’re always on the top ten least safe cities for bicycles and pedestrians, but roadway fatalities in general.”
The city shared a report with 10 Tampa Bay that states between 2014 and 2018 there was an average of 44 deadly, and 289 severe injury crashes each year in Tampa—with a total of 1,515 of those crashes.
“This can be addressed," Bhide said. "You might see curb extensions, you’ll see more crossings, you’ll see raised intersections.”
Kelly Grimsdale lives off of Columbus Drive, and says she’s already happy with improvements made in her area.
“I love the improvements, it’s really made it a walkable corridor,” she said. "It was like trying to cross a raceway, almost."
Bhide says now, every project that involves the road, in any way, will now be completed with Vision Zero in mind.
Mayor Jane Castor said that we all have a personal responsibility to this strategy as well.
"Put your phone down," she said. "We have to make sure that we’re sharing the road safely.”
Bhide says these road improvements can prove to be costly, and funding will be needed to complete the projects. He says he hopes the community considers voting for an upcoming surtax that will be on the ballot this year.