Safe Access to Parks Pilot Study (previously Park Speed Zone Pilot Study) (2022)

Project Overview

Carrollwood Village Park
The purpose of the Safe Access to Parks Pilot Study (previously Park Speed Zone Pilot Study) was to develop a process that can be replicated at parks throughout Hillsborough County, to calm speeds and improve safety on major roads next to parks. A toolbox of safety countermeasures will be developed as part of the process. The pilot project includes three different types of park facilities in Hillsborough County, including local and regional park facilities whose context and transportation safety issues broadly represent other facilities in the region such that the findings from this pilot project can be applied elsewhere in the County. Final Reports under “Documents” at bottom of page,

We want to hear from you!

Icon of a megaphone and thought bubble

During the public engagement period, residents provided input online through the interactive map and companion survey. (El mapa y la encuesta tambien tienen opciones en Español.)

Professional courtesy and respect for others are expected, and failure to abide by these policies may result in the deletion of comments. For more information on expectations for participation, please see the TPO’s Social Networking & Media Policy.

Scope of the Study

Screening – The first step was to identify park facilities to include in the pilot project. During an initial discussion with project stakeholders, numerous candidate locations were identified. As there are over 400 locations in Hillsborough County that are classified as park facilities, a process was developed to more equitably identify park locations that could benefit the most from inclusion in this pilot project rather than select from park locations that are most well-known. For the purposes of this analysis, four different park types were classified, local, passive, active and linear. Based on a quantitative process that considered equity and transportation safety metrics, the three park locations selected for
inclusion in the pilot are Copeland Park, the Upper Tampa Bay Trail, and Sulphur Springs Park. For more on the evaluation criteria see Park Selection Process and Park Prioritization.
Existing Conditions Assessment Once the three pilot project locations were identified, a detailed existing conditions assessment was conducted to document the transportation networks in the park vicinity, prevailing travel patterns including speeds, and collisions.
Public Outreach Feedback from the public was an important component of the project to identify safety concerns that might not be readily apparent with the data. We then developed a countermeasure toolbox that can be applied to subsequent projects.
Countermeasure Toolbox Based on the collision profiles at the three pilot sites a countermeasure toolbox with up to approximately 40 strategies that could be implemented on roadways bounding and connecting to the park sites were developed. For each countermeasure, a description, the safety issue category (i.e., speeding, bike safety, pedestrian safety), crash reduction factor (where available), order of magnitude cost (low, medium, and high), and an icon to provide a visual description of the measure will be provided.
Specific recommendations Based on the results of Existing Conditions Assessment and Public Outreach, and the Countermeasure Toolbox, the team identified specific recommendations that could be implemented at each of the 3 park sites. This was a collaborative process with the final recommendations incorporating feedback from the public outreach. The recommendations include an annotated map conceptually depicting improvements for each location.

Phase 1

Screening/Existing Conditions Assessment

Began Spring 2021

Phase 2

Public Outreach

Summer/Fall 2021

Phase 3

Countermeasure Toolbox/Study Recommendations

Fall 2021

Other Parks Initiatives

City of Tampa Parks and Recreation Master Plan Update

Concurrent with this Park Speed Zone Pilot, the City of Tampa was developing a comprehensive Master Plan to help guide the progress of city park facilities over the next 10 to 20 years. Questions? Call or email city staff.