Gainesville has a history of community heartbreak from pedestrian accident fatalities.
The city has worked on improving pedestrian safety for years, though close calls still happen.
Cameron Leonard, the chief hospitality officer of the Peak Pulse Run Club, has been running for about four years. He said he’s had run-ins with cars even when he had the right of way on University Avenue.
“I’ve been pretty lucky,” he said. “[There’s been] a couple close calls but nothing serious.”
Leonard said he tries to avoid lights and places where he can possibly get hit by cars when running. Even though pedestrians usually have the right of way, he said he doesn’t want to invite mishaps and instead keeps his routes safe and simple.
Aydan Child, the founder of Peak Pulse Run Club, said he planned the run club’s route so they go through as few road crossings as possible. He said he’s dealt with drivers who don’t fully follow the rules of the road and who don’t pay attention.
Sometimes drivers will get to stop signs and come all the way through it and only look to the right when there’s people coming from the left, he said. When it comes to pedestrian safety, Child said “There’s always room for improvement.”
Gainesville has 80% of Alachua county’s bicycle and pedestrian crashes, and Alachua county ranks 18th in the state for serious injuries and fatalities involving pedestrians, according to Gainesville Police Department.
The City of Gainesville and Alachua county are trying to make the roads safer through several projects. Both the city and county adopted a Vision Zero initiative with the goal of eliminating traffic deaths and serious injuries in Gainesville by 2040 with Gainesville declaring October Pedestrian Safety Month.
Alachua county has partnered with several municipalities to work on initiatives like the Safe Roads for All Action Plan and Bicycle Pedestrian Master Plan to try and make the roads safer for everyone.
The main goal of these projects is to identify deficiencies in the transportation network and then develop policies and plans to address them.
According to the county, the SS4A Action Plan will “serve as a basis for further applications for State and Federal funding and guide local investment in safe transportation network improvements on the county's roadway network.”
Meanwhile, the BPMP is the first major update to the county’s bike plan in over 20 years.
Both projects are federally funded, and the U.S. Department of Transportation awarded Alachua County $262,500 in 2023 to implement the SS4A Action Plan.
According to Jessica Kluttz, the Alachua County senior transportation planner, both plans have had huge public outreach throughout their development.
“Surveys and public outreach events have guided both projects,” Kluttz said.
There have already been two community joint meetings and she said each plan will get an independent meeting later this year to present the final draft and policies. The goal is to get public input on what the final products should be and Kluttz said she hopes the public stays engaged with these plans.
Right now, there’s a survey for both projects and a draft of the BPMP available for public comment as the plans develop.
Alachua county has published the High-Injury Network as well, an interactive map showing the most dangerous roads and intersections.
Both the SS4A Action Plan and BPMD won’t be implemented right away when they’re finalized, Kluttz said, but will instead serve as guides for future development throughout the county or as grants come in.
“That's really the goal there, to be able to have this network when capital projects come up, when grants come up, or when development comes in, we are able to say 'this is on our network, this is the facility we need' and get those improved off street facilities for folks,” she said.
City commissioner Bryan Eastman is excited about the plans. He said it’s important for the government to have a long-term strategic plan for dealing with different roads across the county.
“Making sure that we have long-term plans we can share across governments is really the way that we move our transportation system forward to make sure that it's safer for pedestrians and cyclists across our community,” Eastman said.
There’s always been a strong cycling community in Gainesville, and a lot of people are walking and biking as more people move closer to the University of Florida, he said.
But Eastman said a lot of infrastructure is outdated and hasn’t been able to keep up with the growing city. There needs to be more separation between cars, pedestrians and cyclists and Gainesville hasn’t kept up to pace with some of the best practices, he said.
“We have a lot of the core infrastructure that we need to be able to make sure that everyone can get from their home to their school, to their work, or to the grocery store safely,” he said. “We just need to make sure that we have that plan and that we're doing those next important steps to get there.”
Eastman said there are equity issues in Gainesville’s structure, as there are high speed roads that go straight through low-income communities.
“Looking at those areas where you're seeing a lot of pedestrian hits and a lot of pedestrian deaths I think is important so that we're making sure that it's safe no matter where you are,” he said.
It’s a really good time to give feedback on what matters to you and your neighborhood, Eastman said, especially if you use routes that aren’t on the county’s radar.
“We want this to be a very practical document that we can use for the next 25 years to really build a great bicycle and pedestrian system that gets everyone around safely,” he said.