JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- When it comes to walking in the River City, Jacksonville is not safe. In fact, we ranked as one of the least pedestrian-friendly cities in the nation.
Some experts say the city just grew too fast and sidewalks were not a priority.
When it comes to pedestrian safety, to say Jacksonville isn't doing well is an understatement.
"The top worst cities for pedestrian fatalities and injuries are in Florida," AAA spokesman Bill Bishop said, "Orlando, Tampa and then Jacksonville."
"When you study the city, we have a lot of areas that are developing, a lot of them don't have sidewalks, people end up walking along side the road," he said.
AAA reports that over the past decade nearly 50,000 pedestrians were killed in the U.S.
"There's a statistic that also says if you load a 747 up with people and crash it every month during the year, that's how many people will die every year."
So what can be done about it?
"Put the sidewalks in while they're building," Bishop said.
The North Florida Transportation Planning Committee recently issued a survey to more than 2,000 pedestrians.
"We're going to be having a series of public meetings over the next couple of weeks in five locations," Marci Larson, the NFTPC public relations manager, said.
They are hoping the survey and the meetings will help them identify problem areas.
"To move forward from there in terms of what kinds of improvements we can make," she said.
But Marci Larson said that will, of course, all depend on what kind of funding they can get.
