For Hillsborough County Public Schools students who walk or pedal to and from school, the journey often requires perilous passage along busy roads designed to swiftly move cars and trucks with pedestrians being given little consideration.
To promote student pedestrian safety, the county has established a system to identify ways to improve transportation infrastructure near schools. Engineers are studying student routes to identify safety improvements for pedestrians and bicyclists. School route improvements that are typically considered go beyond civic beautification and include reducing driver speed by lowering the speed limit and installing speed bumps, installing wider sidewalks and flashing beacons at crosswalks and creating more separation between bicyclists and automobiles on the road.
Pinecrest Elementary School is receiving attention from officials who are evaluating the safety of students who walk or wheel on their own to the school at 7950 Lithia Pinecrest Rd.
To improve safety, several changes are under consideration for the Lithia Pinecrest Road and County Road 39 areas.
The school zone on Lithia Pinecrest Road would be extended and a new school zone would be established on County Road 39, south of Lithia Pinecrest Road. A shared-use path would unfurl along the south side of Lithia Pinecrest Road, providing a lifeline for pedestrians and cyclists.
Additional improvements include new sidewalk ramps, new crosswalks and pedestrian-friendly signal timing at the intersection of Lithia Pinecrest Road and County Road 39. Lower speed limits to the south and east along Lithia Pinecrest Road and County Road 39 and new shared-use paths are also under consideration. Finally, street lighting would be installed to illuminate the way.
Jason Jackman is a senior research associate with the University of South Florida’s Center for Urban Transportation Research (CUTR), which works with state and local officials on school route safety projects, like the Pinecrest Elementary upgrades, and he said the goal is straightforward: “‘Safe routes to school’ is the idea that we’re trying to implement safer infrastructure around schools so students can walk and bike safely with their families to and from school.”
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