The unwelcomed achievement came from theDangerous by Designreports issued by theNational Complete Streets Coalition.
(Florida’s state DOT is decentralized and divided into seven geographic districts.)
At the end of 2014 Hattaway was named"Public Official of the Year" byGoverningmagazine.
He toured cities with roundabouts and other pedestrian-friendly infrastructure features rare sights in the Sunshine State.
After returning, he began pushing Florida to adopt some of the walkable ideas he’d seen.
Hattaway proved to be ahead of his time.
His encore mission has been to make more of Florida more pedestrian and bicycle friendly.
AARP is a strong advocate for Complete Streets (also called “Safe Streets.")
Billy Hattaway spoke with Laura Cantwell, associate state director ofAARP Florida.
Melissa Stanton, editor, AARP.org/Livable
1.
To set the stage, just give an overview of Florida’s transportation-related pros and cons.
We started by basically redefining our entire bicycle and pedestrian program.
Doing so required a lot of organizational change in the districts and in [the state capital] Tallahassee.
We also added a bike and pedestrian safety specialist in each district to deal with our existing safety problems.
All of this came about as a result of specialists we brought in from theNational Highway Transportation Safety Administration.
Out of that came our first strategic safety plan for bicyclists and pedestrians.
That plan has guided the safety initiative side.
Once we established the safety initiative we began working with local governments and funding their enforcement and education efforts.
In the fall of 2014 we adopted the state’s first Complete Streets policy.
Working with Smart Growth America, we had our implementation plan underway by March of 2015.
A policy without an implementation plan will not create the needed change.
We’re the third state they worked with after Michigan and Vermont.
People think Complete Streets is just about adding sidewalks and bike lanes.
Instead of a 4-foot bike lane we’ve developed a 7-foot buffer lane as our standard bike lane width.
Our first session was in March of 2015 and we finished the final report that November.
What we’re doing is a dramatic culture change.
Incomplete Streets
Look at the photos and read about what you see inour award-winning slideshow.
Then think about the roadways near you.
There’s a good chance you’re encountering similar sights and scenes.
That’s part of why I live in downtown Orlando.
My wife and I plan to retire in place and we can.
We can walk to the grocery store.
Our health care providers, credit union and on and on are all within walking or bicycling distances.
Despite our efforts, the situation is not going to change overnight.
So much of Florida’s land development patterns occurred after World War II.
The state experienced a lot of growth that featured a lot of development that doesnt support walking and bicycling.
However, there are opportunities through redevelopment to rebuild portions of communities to be more supportive to those needs.
Our plan has recommendations that will provide guidance on retrofitting communities.
We need to be more aware of the implications of our future land development patterns.
I have two millennial children and neither lives in suburban sprawl.
In fact, my 35-year-old son hasn’t had a car for a year now.
Change is difficult is for everyone.
Many cities and counties and DOTs aren’t moving fast enough in that direction.
They should also take advantage of the training we’ll offer as part of our handbook implementation.
Published July 2016
