Tampa is at the bottom of the list of walkable cities (Miami: condos, credit)

[Eastern Roamer]

Here's another one for Tampa:
Tampa is at the bottom of the list of walkable cities
Study: Tampa not so "walkable" - National & World News - Tampa Bay's 10 - tampabays10.com (broken link)

We all agree we should reduce greenhouse emmissions and cut our dependency on mid-east oil. And gas prices are too high. We'll do anything to help, except drive less.
People in Tampa think that highway construction and maintenance, emergency services, and traffic control are free, and gas costs too much even though, adjusted for inflation, it cost's about what it did in the 30's thanks to subsidies and tax breaks to oil companies.
But subsidized public transit?! Urban planning with high density and mixed use (commercial/residential)?! That's not how we do things. We don't even want to share our SUVs by car-pooling when we sit in traffic every morning.
Mayor Pam and city council are trying, I'll give them that. But what a long way we have to go.

[Johnland]

I can say without a doubt that downtown Tampa is no place for pedestrians. I work out in New Tampa (very unwalkable place, btw), but live in South Tampa. My travel route home is 275 south to downtown. I cut through town to get to BayShore Blvd by going down Tampa St. Why? Because the streets are wide and there are no pedestrians. It's a fast street for cars pouring off 275 heading to the convention center or the arena. As a driver, I love it as a short cut. But I look at those new condos going up on Tampa St and say no way would I ever live there. Tampa and Ashley St's are for fast moving cars three deep, not for walkers. The new condos won't contribute many pedestrians anyway. They sit on ten story concrete parking garages, so most people will probably drive in and out to go any place useful, this making it even harder for walkers to navigate.

[compelled to reply]

That list ranked Miami as being more walkable than NYC. It's a load of crap. I would call Tampa more walkable than Miami. But I can't think of a single sunbelt city that is pedestrian friendly. The last sentence in that article was spot on.

[tampaguy03]

Originally Posted by Johnland

I can say without a doubt that downtown Tampa is no place for pedestrians. I work out in New Tampa (very unwalkable place, btw), but live in South Tampa. My travel route home is 275 south to downtown. I cut through town to get to BayShore Blvd by going down Tampa St. Why? Because the streets are wide and there are no pedestrians. It's a fast street for cars pouring off 275 heading to the convention center or the arena. As a driver, I love it as a short cut. But I look at those new condos going up on Tampa St and say no way would I ever live there. Tampa and Ashley St's are for fast moving cars three deep, not for walkers. The new condos won't contribute many pedestrians anyway. They sit on ten story concrete parking garages, so most people will probably drive in and out to go any place useful, this making it even harder for walkers to navigate.

Beware as there are big changes coming to Ashley Drive, less lanes, medians with more trees, they are making it the "gateway" into Tampa, during construction of the new Museum of Art, Children's Museum and Curtis Hixon Park along the Riverwalk. They will also be looking to change the light patterns along Tampa Street and Florida Avenue, right now, they all go green at the same time, and it's a race through downtown.

[Eastern Roamer]

Originally Posted by compelled to reply

That list ranked Miami as being more walkable than NYC. It's a load of crap. I would call Tampa more walkable than Miami. But I can't think of a single sunbelt city that is pedestrian friendly. The last sentence in that article was spot on.

I think they were measuring towns within those large cities and Coral Gables ranked high. Surely Miami is not more walkable than New York. I'll take a closer look at the study.
But there is no way Tampa is more walkable than Miami.

[Eastern Roamer]

They've done allot of good to Meridian Ave, too. When they finally re-develop the Central Park area, I think they'll be moving in the right direction. Again, I give the Mayor and City Council credit, they're trying.

[NeedAChangeFromFL]

Tampa is a very unwalkable city...easy to see by looking around.

The Tampa area was also ranked very high on the list of most dangerous places in the nation for pedestrians.

[gypsychic]

My husband who works downtown Tampa saw a woman attempt to cross the street and was struck and killed by a racing car.

Tampa is the most UNWALKABLE city I have ever seen. Only parts of south Tampa and Ybor are walkable, shameful for a city this size.

[D-R-B]

It is not just the "lay out" of the city. It is also the "every man for himself" attitude of this state. Just go to any strip mall or grocery store parking lot and watch pedestrians trying to cross the pavement in front of the store- it is rediculous. The drivers are annoyed that people are trying to get into the store.

[chrisw]

define not walkable? meaning if i lived in a condo downtown i couldnt walk to the nearest market to grab something?