Six bicyclists have been killed on Tampa Bay area roads in the past 10 weeks, an alarming number in a state that already leads the nation in bicycling fatalities.
The most recent death occurred on Friday, when an out-of-control car careened into a woman standing on the curb with her bicycle while waiting to use the crosswalk. She was killed instantly.
Later that day, Tampa Bay cyclists were to make a 15-mile ride to memorialize five persons who had died while bicycling since July 29. Instead, they rode for six.
Make roads safer
On Wednesday, the Hillsborough County commissioners directed the county staff to work with the municipalities to make area roads safer for bicycling. They expect it will take education, engineering and enforcement, according to Tampa Bay Online.
Clearly, it's long past time that officials there take action, and we certainly hope they can find solutions. Florida is notorious for its high crash and fatality rates involving bicyclists. Some Florida cities, such as St. Petersburg, Orlando, Gainesville and Tallahassee, have received Bicycle Friendly Community status in recent years for their efforts to make the streets safe. Maybe Hillsborough County can employ some of their strategies to stop the carnage.
The fatalities
Alan Snel, a bicyclist and blogger who represents the South West Florida Bicycle United Dealers, organized the Honor the Fallen bike ride on Friday, the day that Diane Vega, 53, was killed. Her daughter showed up at the end of the ride to say that her mother was planning to ride in the memorial that evening.
Tampa Bay Online listed the previous five bicycle fatalities:
• Kayoko Ishizuka, a 30-year-old cancer researcher who died in a hit-and-run Sept. 25 near the University of South Florida. She was returning from work. Police have since made an arrest in that case;
• Neil Alan Smith, 48, who died Sept. 18, six days after his bicycle was struck in a hit-and-run in St. Petersburg. He also was returning home from work (an excellent story of the man's life);
• Stephen Allen Ivey, 52, who died Sept. 12 following a wreck with a car in New Port Richey;
• Joseph Dyals, 46, an art teacher at Chiles Elementary School. He died Sept. 9 in a crash with a minivan. He was riding his bike to work;
• LeRoy Collins Jr., 75, who died July 29 in a wreck with a sport-utility vehicle at South Hyde Park Avenue and Brorein Street. Collins, the son of a former Florida governor, was a retired admiral and former U.S. Senate candidate.
LAB letter
In a letter to the Hillsborough commissioners, League of American Bicyclists director Andy Clarke says it's time that motorists treat bicyclists like human beings;
“Our plea to the residents of Tampa, especially those behind the wheel of a motor vehicle, is to stop treating cyclists like animals. The callous disregard for human life shown by the driver who won’t even stop when they hit someone is inexcusable; as is the level of vitriol towards cyclists on display in the on-line newspaper comments that follow every such incident. We understand that many cyclists flout the rules of the road and that such behavior is irritating – the organized bicycling community, including the League, tries hard to change that dynamic through our education and club programs. But not only are the recent deaths NOTHING to do with cyclist misbehavior, the last victim was on the sidewalk when they were hit by a car involved in a redlight running crash.”
Hope
Clarke says there is room for hope, however. St. Petersburg has been able to institute changes that led to a 15% decrease in bike-car crashes in the past couple of years.
“So there is hope and there are local examples of ways for Tampa and Hillsborough County to improve.
“There is also hope because of the efforts of local advocates, the outpouring of support for the families of the victims, and because some local leaders are ready to act.”
Snel writes in detail about some of the work that can be undertaken to make streets safer now that the commissioners have vowed to act.
Let's see what Hillsborough County can do to reverse this horrendous trend.
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