No Room For Runners Or Walkers On Florida Roads

Sidewalks and roomy shoulders are considered luxuries in the Sunshine State.

According to an article in The New York Times, Florida, specifically Orlando, is the most dangerous place to be a pedestrian. The results were published in a report by the nonprofit safety advocacy group, Transportation for America. “So much of Florida has been built up so quickly in that era of the automobile-oriented design; it’s this sort of the boomer phenomenon,” noted David Goldberg, the communications director for the organization. “The tendency there has been to build the big wide arterials; you have these long superblocks and you can get up to a good speed.”

Goldberg is referring to roads like Semoran Boulevard in Orlando, which are six-laned and where drivers typically fly by at 60 miles an hour. Seeing a person attempting to cross the road is a reason to speed up, not slow down.

In the Orlando-Kissimmee region, 550 pedestrians were killed from 2000 to 2009.

Cindy Berdeguez is one example of a pedestrian who takes a gamble crossing the road in Florida. “You’ve got to walk fast, you can’t talk and you keep your eye on the road,” she said with sweat pouring down her face. “There are no lights, no crosswalks and the bus stop is in the middle here.”

For More: The New York Times