HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — School will be back in session in the Tampa Bay area before you know it, and Hillsborough County leaders are asking for your feedback on finding where improvements can be made for walking and biking near five schools.
Making sure students have a safe path to school could be life-saving.
"Hillsborough County is really a very dangerous place to be a walker or a biker,” said Emily Hinsdale.
Hinsdale is the president and co-founder of Sidewalk Stompers.
"Most kids do not have a provided way to get to school, so that leaves them with a choice of a car or walking and biking, and especially for areas with our most vulnerable students, we need to have safer ways for them to walk and bike to school,” said Hinsdale.
Hillsborough County is currently studying the routes around five schools for pedestrian and bike safety.
The schools are Riverview High, Webb Middle, Town and Country Elementary, Woodbridge Elementary, and Morgan Woods Elementary.
The county said the School Route Safety Improvement program encourages more walking and biking to school by making students safer and more comfortable.
"These are going to be within a walking radius of the school up to two miles in which we look at the sidewalks, the street crossing, flashing beacons, traffic signals,” said Bob Campbell, the Transportation Engineering Manager for Hillsborough County.
Every year, the county says engineers study school routes to look for ways to improve walking and biking, like sidewalks, crosswalks, bike facilities, and better traffic signals.
The county also wants your input.
"You know what you deal with on a daily basis and what the issues are in your community. They're the best source of information,” said Campbell. “Are the cars speeding? Are they paying attention to the stop signs? Are they looking out for kids? They can tell us. Maybe we can work with them and the school principals and law enforcement to come up with an action plan to address the issues they face every day out there.”
Hinsdale thinks all-way stops, stoplights, and slowing speed limits down around schools are good starts. She said if you live in those areas, consider what you notice.
"Where are they walking along and say, wow, there's no sidewalk here, so I can't keep walking. Where do they want to cross the street and say I can't safely cross the street here,” said Hinsdale. “How can they connect the routes from their homes to the school to the other places in the community.”
People are asked to share their thoughts online for Riverview High School here through July 10 and for the other four schools here until July 12.
