Small groups of no more than five riders will jump on their bicycles and ride with an experienced Ride Leader who will guide them through 5 Central Florida cities come October 5th.
But, as many of you know, Bike 5 Cities is so much more than one ride. It’s about giving everyday people the tools to be able to ride safely and comfortably, whenever they want to. It’s about raising awareness and advocating for a more bike-friendly region.
This year’s presenting sponsor is Alert Today Florida, which is a program of the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT). This is the third year Alert Today Florida has generously supported Bike/Walk Central Florida’s signature ride event – the annual slow-paced, welcoming, inclusive bike ride event on Saturday, October 3, 2020.
Tell me about Alert Today Florida
To develop and implement effective and sustainable solutions to improve pedestrian and bicycle safety in Florida, the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) developed a Bicycle/Pedestrian Focused Initiative in 2011 to lead all efforts to improve pedestrian and bicycle safety in the state.
The campaign was branded “Alert Today Florida” in 2012. In 2013, FDOT developed Florida’s Pedestrian and Bicycle Strategic Safety Plan (PBSSP) and formed the Florida Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety Coalition to vigorously implement the plan.
The Alert Today Florida Approach
Alert Today Florida adopted a data-driven approach to use available resources to achieve the most tangible results, focusing on engineering, education, enforcement, and emergency medical services, while prioritizing areas with the highest representation of traffic crashes resulting in serious and fatal injuries to pedestrians and bicyclists.
The Priority Areas
From 2013 to the present, under Alert Today Florida, major pedestrian and bicycle safety-related engineering projects, educational outreach events, paid media advertisements, and High Visibility Enforcement (HVE) activities have been implemented statewide, especially in priority areas.
Tracking Change
Based on available official crash data, between 2016–2017 and 2015–2016, there was a 5.14 percent reduction in pedestrian and bicyclist fatalities, a 4.60 percent reduction in injuries, and a 3.88 percent reduction in crashes on selected high-crash corridors in the top 15 high priority counties where HVE operations and educational activities took place. The estimated cost savings for Florida was more than $209 million.
Safety Information & Educational Materials
The one stop for safety information, public service announcements, and educational materials is housed at the AlertTodayFlorida.com website. If you’re looking for Bikeability checklists and safe riding tips or curious about FDOT Complete Streets implementation, it’s all on the website. Better yet, just follow Alert Today Florida on Facebook.
For more information about Alert Today Florida, please contact:
Trenda McPherson
State Bicycle/Pedestrian Safety Program Manager
FDOT Traffic Safety Office
605 Suwannee Street, MS 53
Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0450
Email: [email protected]
Tel(O): (850) 414-4025
