The Florida Office of Program Policy Analysis and Governmental Accountability has issued its “Hazardous Walking Conditions in Florida” report that may pave the way for state providing funds to build a pedestrian overpass in Beulah so children can walk to school without crossing Highway 90.
Escambia County Commissioner Jeff Bergosh has been an advocate for an overpass to connect the network of sidewalks on both sides of the highway.
“I want the community to be able to move around, especially with the new public sits there and some new shops and restaurants that are going in. And it will compliment the sidewalk infrastructure that the Department of Transportation is putting in,” Bergosh told Inweekly last year. “I think that’s a great thing, not just for the students, but for the health of the community.”
State Rep. Michelle Salzman led the fight to get the report that examined the process used to identify and assess walking conditions for Florida public school students and to identify potential improvements based on input from stakeholders. She felt the report was necessary to build the case for an overpass.
According to the Federal Highway Administration, overpasses provide a 86% decrease in pedestrian crashes. However, they only represent 10% of the countermeasures used to address unsafe walking conditions.
Read OPPAGA Research–Hazardous Walking Conditions 07-26-2022.