January 2023 – As 2022 came to an end, the TPO participated in events and projects that highlighted initiatives within our community to increase transportation safety. Wherever we traveled, we took the message of transportation safety with us.
Celebrating everyday heroes
In November, a few TPO staff traveled to Lakeland, FL for the annual Gulf Coast Safe Streets Summit where we celebrated individual transportation safety efforts by presenting two Vision Zero awards. Emily Hinsdale received the Vision Zero Hero award for her work as president and founder of Sidewalk Stompers, a walk-to-school program striving to improve students’ health and safety. Bob Frey, Director of Innovation for the Tampa Hillsborough Expressway Authority (THEA), received the Bob the Builder award for his service as a community champion for pedestrian and motorist safety in the City of Tampa. The Gulf Coast Safe Streets Summit is an initiative of the Sun Coast Transportation Planning Alliance (SuncoastTPA.org) of which the Hillsborough TPO is a member.
New strides in school transportation safety coming soon
The month of December saw the approval of our Tampa School Transportation Safety Study at our monthly Board meeting. One recommendation from the study, a digital public awareness campaign to make school zones safer, would be implemented by Center for Urban Transportation Research CUTR soon after. The campaign would use a process called geofencing to send safety text messages to cell phone users who enter or exit a school zone.
Planning partners and the community come together
The new year opened strong with our High Injury Network Workshop that took place during the January 2023 Policy Meeting. The workshop highlighted the efforts by several of our planning partners to increase safety in High Injury Network Corridors throughout Hillsborough County. Presentations included:
- Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) Safety Programs – Peter Hsu, FDOT District 7
- City of Tampa Vision Zero – Alex Henry, City of Tampa
- Hillsborough County Update – Abigail Flores, Hillsborough County
- TPO Update – Gena Torres, TPO Staff
Several members of the community also shared their desire to see increased accountability towards transportation safety such as Sidewalk Stompers Vice President and co-founder Tim Scheu and Jon Dengler, CEO of WellBuilt Bikes. Visit planhillsborough.org/vision-zero for more information about our Vision Zero program. To view the entire High Injury Network Workshop, visit bit.ly/3VYh8WU
