GIBSONTON, Fla. — Morning in this South County neighborhood starts with the rumble of engines and the steady stream of cars along Big Bend Road. Students on bikes and on foot weave between traffic, as parents and commuters hurry toward work and school.
For three years, Julie Pierre watched the routine unfold with worry.
WATCH: Parents hope for improved school pedestrian safety along Big Bend Road
She moved to the neighborhood three years ago, drawn by the proximity to three schools within walking distance. But after taking the walk herself with her 12-year-old son, she saw a different picture: busy intersections without crosswalks, no bike lanes, and drivers in a rush.
“My thoughts are that the county’s expectation is the safety of our children first and foremost,” Pierre said. “And I feel like a lot of the pedestrian crosswalks, they show negligence to our children.”
Pierre described a daily mix of students and working adults sharing the same streets at the same time. “You have these busy adults speeding and racing to work, and then you have these kids trying not to be tardy to class,” she said. “At one point in time… someone could get hurt in the worst way, and we don’t want that.”
She wants to see marked crosswalks, bike lanes, and a stronger police presence along the routes children take, not just near the school, but in the surrounding subdivisions.
“That same street is used for the children to cross the street to get into the school,” she said. “Having more of a police presence… will be beneficial to us as a community.”
Countywide review
County officials say they are hearing those concerns.
Bob Campbell, the Transportation Engineering Manager for Hillsborough County Public Works, said East Bay High School, Eisenhower Middle, and Corr Elementary and their surrounding neighborhoods are part of a multi-year pedestrian safety program covering 100 schools.
“We’ve screened 100 schools in Hillsborough County, and we’ve ranked them for safety of kids walking to and from school,” Campbell said. “We’re going through a series of schools per year to see how we can improve pedestrian safety within a two-mile radius of the school.”
The process includes data collection, on-site observations of how students travel, and meetings with principals, PTAs, deputy sheriffs and residents. “What we want to end up with is a program of projects, easy projects and more complex projects, to make walking safer,” Campbell said.
Why two miles
That two-mile range is guided by state statute, Campbell said. In Florida, bus transportation is generally available for students living more than two miles from their school. Hillsborough County School Board offers “courtesy buses” for students living between one and two miles away.
“For us, it’s really zero to one, but this two-mile walking rate is what we use, consistent with what school bus may or may not be provided,” Campbell said.
Within that distance, the county is looking at two types of improvements.
Tier One projects can be installed quickly, such as thermoplastic pavement markings, signs and flashing beacons. Tier Two improvements, like raised crosswalks, roundabouts, and new signals, require more engineering and take longer to build.
Growth pressure
Growth in southern Hillsborough County has added urgency.
“We have a mix of new and old,” Campbell said. “A lot of the older areas need to be retrofitted… a lot of the communities we deal with have open drainage, no sidewalks. Kids have to walk in the road or on the side of the road.”
Pierre said she sees that reality every day.
“I hear from my neighbors all the time that they would rather drive their child than to have them walk or cycle just because of the safety risk,” she said.
When her son first asked to walk with friends, she agreed, but decided to go with him to see the route.
“Once I saw what that path was, it red flag raised major concerns,” Pierre said. “I expressed it to the school that patrol needs to come out to a further distance, because our subdivision goes way back and you have kids crossing… a major intersection.”
Daily choices
The decision has changed her family’s routine.
“We commute him just because of the danger,” Pierre said. “Why do you have the majority of your parents instead of allowing their children to cycle or walk to school rearranging our schedules to commute our children? It’s because it’s dangerous.”
She said traffic around dismissal time is especially risky. “I see those children get out of school, and it’s rush hour traffic,” she said. “People are not obeying the lights, they are not obeying the signs. They are not yielding to pedestrians. And those pedestrians are children. They’re babies.”
Pierre likes much of the county’s proposal, especially Tier Two features like sidewalk buffers, bike lanes, raised crosswalks and better lighting. But she said even the best-designed road improvements need enforcement.
“Until it’s actually enforced, people will see it and not obey,” she said. “I think that this is a great start, but it’s definitely something to build on.”
A call for voices
Campbell said public input is critical to shaping the plan, and the county has opened an online portal for residents to share concerns at publicinput.com/h58421.
“The most important information we can get are from parents and people who live in the neighborhood,” he said.
Pierre said she will be at the upcoming public meeting — and she won’t come alone.
“I’m always happy to advocate for our children,” she said. “We’re a mom to all children, not just yours. I will speak to my neighbors about chiming in as well… we all have the safety of our children at risk with this.”
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