Why Biking in Temple Terrace is Safer Than You Think

Julie Bond can usually be found in Temple Terrace on two wheels instead of four.

“I’m an avid cyclist,” said the Temple Terrace resident.

She rides her bicycle to work, to run errands and for her own fitness. Most importantly, she said, she feels safe doing it.

“Contrary to popular belief, it’s safe to ride around Temple Terrace,” said Brad Parrish, the city’s senior planner.

That’s part of the message the city is hoping comes across in its new public service announcement, a video it created with Tampa BayCycle to promote Temple Terrace’s multi-modal philosophy.

Tampa BayCycle is a grassroots initiative founded in 2007, said Bond, who leads the group and is also senior research associate at the Center for Urban Transportation Research at the University of South Florida. Tampa BayCycle’s goal is to encourage people to bicycle instead of drive.

When the Florida Department of Transportation launched its pedestrian and bicycle safety campaign “Alert Today, Alive Tomorrow” nearly a year ago, it pointed to statistics that showed 22.7 percent of all traffic crashes, fatalities, and injuries involve pedestrians and bicyclists.

Temple Terrace is distancing itself from those types of statistics. Roads like Whiteway and Riverhills drives and Ridgedale and Druid Hills roads have signs that encourage motorists to “Share the Road.” Some streets also have bike lanes. The city produces its own bicycle map, highlighting these thoroughfares.

City officials also meet periodically with a group of residents interested in bicycle issues within Temple Terrace, Parrish said. They came up with the idea to create a video and many of them volunteered to be in it.

The 30-second video, which was shot in March by Kevin Hoag of Temple Terrace-based DREAM Slate Studios, shows these volunteers riding their own bicycles through Temple Terrace and encourages bicyclists to wear helmets, pedestrians to use the sidewalk, and motorists to give bicyclists three feet of space.

“In Temple Terrace, we’re dedicated to making sure that bicyclists have an enjoyable ride through the city,” a narrator says in the video.

The city and Tampa BayCycle split the video’s $700 cost. It was posted on YouTube June 21 and has more than 60 views.

“We’re going to put it on our website, put it on our TV channel,” said city spokesman Michael Dunn, adding it might also appear on Tampa Bay community networks.

The goal of the video is two-pronged, Dunn said.

“One: obviously the safety aspect,” he said. “But also, we’re touting ourselves as a bicycle-friendly community.”

And Temple Terrace and Tampa BayCycle are also promoting the idea that biking between the city and USF is safe and enjoyable. One of the city’s marketing strategies is to appeal to recently-hired USF employees who are looking for homes near their new jobs.

“It’s just another way to let people know that we are USF’s hometown,” Dunn explained.

Bond said she bikes from her home near Inverness Avenue to her job at USF whenever she can.

“It’s an easy bike ride for people who live in Temple Terrace,” she said.

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