Bike Walk Central Florida details Best Foot Forward results, asks Orange County to maintain pedestrian safety funding

Emily Bush, executive director of Bike Walk Central Florida, told the Transportation Mobility Advisory Commission on Aug. 14 that her nonprofit has partnered with Orange County for more than a decade on pedestrian safety work and youth education, and that the organization needs stable county funding to keep the programs running at current scale.

Why it matters: Bike Walk said its Best Foot Forward pedestrian safety program — a package of enforcement, education and low‑cost engineering countermeasures — has measurable effects on driver behavior at monitored crosswalks and provides technical recommendations the county can use when designing low‑cost safety fixes.

What Bike Walk reported Bush said the organization conducts data collection, before‑and‑after evaluations, enforcement coordination with law enforcement partners, and low‑cost engineering recommendations at crosswalk locations. She said the group also runs Bike Walk Kids youth education, helmet fittings, bike rodeos and bike giveaways in partnership with local hospitals, foundations and governments.

Key program numbers Bush cited: - The organization said it has conducted tens of thousands of staged crossings and data collections across Central Florida, with more than 65 monitored crosswalks in Orange County to date. - She reported that driver yield rates at monitored Orange County crosswalks have increased on average (Bike Walk cited an ~28% improvement across monitored sites) and attributed improvements to a mix of enforcement and engineering countermeasures. - Bike Walk listed specific examples where treatments raised yield rates substantially: a rectangular rapid flashing beacon (RRFB) at Forsyth & Katy Way Trail raised yields to about 80% from a much lower baseline; other RRFB and median installations produced 25–39% improvements in monitored cases. - The organization reported large cumulative outreach and service numbers: more than 10,000 community interactions in a recent year, more than 3,000 helmet fittings, roughly 900 bike giveaways and several hundred bike rodeo certifications across the region.

Funding and capacity Bush said Orange County contributed roughly $100,000 in the prior fiscal year, mostly to Best Foot Forward, with a smaller portion going to Bike Walk Kids and project support. She told commissioners that MetroPlan Orlando historically contributed seed funds to expand Best Foot Forward, but MetroPlan did not fund the program this year; as a result Bike Walk said the per‑county cost has risen (the organization cited a program budget that was about $63,000 last year and rose to roughly $74,000–$75,000 after funding changes). Bush asked the county to consider restoring prior support levels so Bike Walk can continue enforcement, data collection and project support.

Program evaluation cadence and scope Commissioners asked how often Bike Walk returns to sites for follow‑up data. Bush said data collections and follow‑up are conducted periodically and that the organization evaluates sites over time, collects multiple post‑installation samples, and reviews results year‑to‑year with county and law‑enforcement partners. She said program schedules can shift around seasonal travel patterns and hurricane season, and that enforcement and engineering decisions are coordinated with the county sheriff and local jurisdictions.

Commissioners’ questions and follow‑up requests Commissioners pressed on survey cadence, the cost per location, and whether changes such as the addition of an RRFB provide persistent long‑term benefit or only short‑term effects. Bush said Bike Walk typically conducts multiple follow‑up collections and evaluates sites over the year; she also said the group will share detailed data sets and recommendations with TransMAC and county staff on request.

Other work Bush described Bike Walk’s work on local active‑transportation planning and trail loop feasibility (West Orange Trail / Shingle Creek connections), a sidewalk‑gap analysis for the town of Oakland, a downtown connectivity study for Apopka, and project‑level reviews such as the Pine Hills safety project where Bike Walk provided comments to the county’s design sets.

What Bike Walk asked from the commission The nonprofit asked Orange County to preserve or restore funding levels for Best Foot Forward and to continue partnering on trail connectors, youth education and targeted engineering recommendations. Bush said Bike Walk provided a support letter for Orange County’s SS4A (Safe Streets for All) grant application and said the organization will continue to provide data and enforcement coordination if funding continues.

Speakers quoted in this article are the nonprofit’s staff and TransMAC members who questioned or commented during the Aug. 14 meeting.