Jacksonville Bicycle-Pedestrian Advisory Committee is urging area residents to be mindful when driving as Jacksonville is one of the nation’s largest cities with the highest number of pedestrian deaths.
Jacksonville Bicycle-Pedestrian Advisory Committee Chair Chris Burns spoke on First Coast Connect Friday about the dangers of biking in Jacksonville.
“Jacksonville is a very unsafe place to walk or ride a bike,” he said. “Of the 50 big cities of the United States, Jacksonville was ranked as the worst city in the whole United States for combined pedestrian and bicycling death rate.”
Burns said Florida also outranks any other state in the country for number of pedestrians killed by cars. Just in time, the committee is wrapping up their two-year study of ways to make Jacksonville a safer place for cyclists and pedestrians.
The committee has worked with a consultant to analyze crash reports and pedestrian-heavy areas in hopes of making the city safer. The study has spawned ideas like revamping streets and infrastructure and also repairing sidewalks.
Amy Ingles, Bike-Pedestrian coordinator, said a final draft of the safety plan is expected at the end of the month.
News Intern Veronica Hall can be reached on Twitter @vhall1995 or at newsteam@wjct.org