Bike/Walk Tampa Bay to Host Summer Summit

St. Petersburg, FL – With economic, health and environmental concerns top of mind for many people today, Bike/Walk Tampa Bay is doing its part to assist with all three areas.

The group is a regional coalition of residents, advocates, professionals and allied organizations who have come together to improve walkability and bikeability in the Tampa Bay region. Bike/Walk Tampa Bay currently focuses on Hillsborough and Pinellas counties.

To help establish regional priorities, Bike/Walk Tampa Bay will host its Summer Summit on Thursday, July 21 at the Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital Education and Conference Center, 701 Fourth St. S. in St. Petersburg.

Bike/Walk Tampa Bay held its first-ever summit on Dec. 2 in Hillsborough County and plans to host two summits each year, said Julie Bond, senior research associate for the Center for Urban Transportation Research at the University of South Florida in Tampa.

“The Summer Summit brings together people who are working to make the Tampa Bay area safe and enjoyable for walking and biking,” she said. “The summit utilizes the power of group collaboration to create priorities for our region. BWTB will be working year round on the priorities established during the summit.”

This month's summit will cover biking and walking improvement and plans in Pinellas County. The Pinellas County Metropolitan Planning Organization and the Florida Department of Transportation will provide presentations.

After the presentations, the participants will break into groups, which will cover the organization’s “5 E’s”: Education, enforcement, engineering, encouragement and evaluation. Each group will be guided by a facilitator and work on establishing the coalition’s priorities and will report back on progress and new ideas. The breakout groups will focus on both Hillsborough and Pinellas County.

Before the meeting, Lucas Cruse, the City of St. Petersburg’s Bike/Pedestrian Coordinator, will lead a group walk to the nearby Roser Park Neighborhood. The 1.5 mile stroll explores the nearby neighborhood’s geography and the route of the planned Historic Booker Creek Trail. There will be limited spots available and registration is required.

Even though the summits are rotated between Hillsborough and Pinellas, the overall priorities established at the Summits will cover both counties.

Bond said the public is key for making communities more walkable and bikeable.

“It will take all of us to make positive change,” she said. “We encourage everyone to visit the Bike/Walk Tampa Bay website and join our meetings, events and other activities.”

The Summer Summit schedule will be:

• 3:30 to 4:30 p.m.: Group walk
• 4:30 to 5:30 p.m.: Meet & Greet
• 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.: Summit

To register for the Bike/Walk Tampa Bay Summer Summit and the group walk, visit http://bwtbsummersummit.eventbrite.com. For more information, call (813) 974-9215.

Images courtesy of Bike/Walk Tampa Bay

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