It takes Eve Koenig about a half hour to get to class each morning. She lives off Archer, just west of I-75. The English junior said she loathes battling traffic each morning for nothing more than a place to park. But because her classes run past 6 p.m. While many UF students and county officials welcome those improvements, some argue that those improvements need to include accommodations for bicyclists and pedestrians.
People bike and people walk both to work and for leisure.
If there isn't adequate space for them on the roadway, it's a public safety hazard. Jim Leary, chairman of the bicycle and pedestrian advisory board committee, said statistics show that car accidents decrease with paved road shoulders. Bicycle and pedestrian accommodations could reduce traffic congestion and alleviate parking problems that plague most of the county, Leary said. Public Works Director Ed Culpepper could not say Monday if the county's planned transportation improvements would include such accommodations. It depends on where the road is located and how much money is available, he said.