BWCF Chair Billy Hattaway Talks Pedestrian Safety in Governing

In case you missed the latest issue of Governing magazine, Billy Hattaway, who serves as the Chair for BWCF in addition to his day job as the District One Secretary for the FDOT, was featured talking about efforts to improve safety for pedestrians in Florida.

Poorer neighborhoods face much higher pedestrian fatality rates than in wealthier neighborhoods. These neighborhoods tend to suffer from a lack of pedestrian-safe features and all regions have to get on the ball with preventative measures.  Yet, Florida faces an even bigger struggle – claiming four spots out of the top five metro areas with the highest per capita death rates. Hattaway has long been advocating the importance of more pedestrian-friendly infrastructure. “It floored me that we were not doing more to deal with this safety problem as a country,” he said.

The good news is that through the tireless efforts of those like Hattaway and the FDOT, communities have started to see some change. Hattaway has led efforts in training planners and engineers as well as developing a pedestrian safety plan for the state. He is pushing for more roundabouts and incorporating smart design, such as wider sidewalks in downtown areas. A project proposal is in the planning stages for Immokalee in Collier County – the impoverished center of agriculture for that region – that would address the heavy traffic so the main road can become more pedestrian-friendly.

To learn more about Billy Hattaway and FDOT’s efforts, click here: http://www.governing.com/topics/public-justice-safety/gov-pedestrian-deaths-analysis.html