Tampa third most dangerous city in nation for cyclists, data shows

Share
Bikes on Cross Bay Ferry. By Seán Kinane/WMNF News
Bikes on Cross Bay Ferry. By Seán Kinane/WMNF News

Listen:

A recent study ranked Tampa as the third most dangerous city in the nation for cyclists. The study emphasizes the city’s need for better bike infrastructure.

The study, by Velotric, ranked cities by number of fatal accidents in 2020. Houston and Los Angeles ranked 1st and 2nd, with Tampa in third.

J. Steele Olmstead, cyclist, and longtime Tampa resident, is disappointed with the ranking.

“We have 365 beautiful days a year! Very few do we have cases where it’s too cold to ride a bicycle. And it’s flat! We can ride these things all year long!”

In 2015, the Tampa city council unveiled a vision zero plan for pedestrian and bicycle safety. The plan seeks to eliminate roadway fatalities and severe injuries.  Four years later, the city adopted the plan. The city has painted crosswalks and worked on bike lanes, among other projects.

However, Olmstead thinks it’s not enough.

“Kennedy Avenue, all the way out to freaking Westshore needs a bicycle lane. A protected bicycle lane.”

Five other Florida cities also ranked in the top 10, making Florida the state with the largest number of fatal bike accidents.

 

Leave a Reply

  • (will not be published)

XHTML: You can use these tags: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>

You may also like

Florida black bear
Despite backlash, FWC approves controversial bear hunts in Florida

Listen: The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission voted to...

The Scoop: Wed. May 21, 2025, Tampa Bay and Florida headlines by WMNF

WMNF headlines including affordable housing, hurricane recover, Recover Hardee, black...

Affordable housing top of mind at ‘State of Tampa’s Downtown’ forum

Listen: Luxury apartments and condos continue to pop up in...

The Scoop: Tue. May 20, 2025, Tampa Bay and Florida headlines by WMNF

WMNF headlines including DeSantis boater safety, Gaza Strip, Venezuela TPS,...

Ways to listen

WMNF is listener-supported. That means we don't advertise like a commercial station, and we're not part of a university.

Ways to support

WMNF volunteers have fun providing a variety of needed services to keep your community radio station alive and kickin'.

Latin Jazz & Salsa
Latin Jazz & Salsa