M Focus on: Streets, Highways & Bridges
Deerfield Beach calms roadway to improve pedestrian safety An overhead view shows the finished roadway. (Photo provided by Deerfield Beach)
By DANI MESSICK | The Municipal
The citizens are taking back the streets in one Florida city.
Deerfield Beach citizens paint fish onto the roadway. (Photo provided by Deerfield Beach) 28 THE MUNICIPAL | FEBRUARY 2022
In December 2020, the Broward Metropolitan Planning Organization established BTactical, a streets initiative focused on multimodal safety improvements throughout Broward County. Florida is known as the most dangerous state in the country for pedestrians, according to “Dangerous By Design 2021,” published by Smart Growth America and the National Complete Streets Coalition. Their report showed 5,893 pedestrian fatalities between 2010 and 2019, amounting to average annual pedestrian fatalities of 2.8 per 100,000, and a danger index of 201.4 as of the 2021 report. The next nearest danger index — Alabama — dropped to 174.6. The overall national average is 63.3.
