The 1st Annual USF Transportation Day was held on February 28, 2019. The event held interactive activities like scooter demonstrations, bike maintenance, and road safety pledges. Senior Research Associate Julie Bond and Program Specialist Brentin Mosher with the Transportation Demand Management Program led the initiative.
The signature feature of USF Transportation Day was the closing a segment of Alumni Drive, a major campus thoroughfare, to vehicular traffic. Secretary David Gwynn of FDOT District Seven, Dr. Robert Bishop, dean of the USF College of Engineering, Beth Alden, executive director of the Hillsborough MPO, Christopher Moorman, president of the USF Student Planning Organization, and MD Hoque, president of the Institute of Transportation Engineers USF Student Chapter, all spoke at the “ribbon closing” ceremony. More than 300 attendees watched Alumni Drive transform into a temporary car-free zone. More than 20 exhibitors lined the closed street, including Bike/Walk Tampa Bay, Coast Bike Share, FDOT District Seven, Tampa Bay Clean Cities, gotcha, and Vision Zero Hillsborough, along with several USF departments and programs, all offering resources on how to leave the solo-drive behind and the benefits of doing so, both for the commuter and for the Tampa Bay region as a whole.
“[It] was envisioned as an engaging way to introduce the next generation of professionals to different transportation modes and involve the USF community,” said Bond.
USF officials, students, and community members close Alumni Drive to car traffic on Feb 28, 2019.
In addition to closing Alumni Drive, there were fun activities and prize drawings throughout the event. USF Bike Club president Tobias Coon led 30 riders on a five-mile tour around the campus to demonstrate how easy it is to get around by bike. To highlight the importance of safety, volunteers also participated in a “Paint the Bike Lane Green” activity, where a stretch of Alumni Drive was painted green to provide lane positioning cues for bicyclists and make the bike lane itself more visible to those driving on the street. “USF Transportation Day was envisioned as an engaging way to introduce the next generation of professionals to different transportation modes and involve the USF community,” said Bond.
The USF Center for Urban Transportation Research, the USF Institute of Transportation Engineers, the USF Student Planning Organization, and external agencies, such as FDOT District Seven, were partners in planning the event. Plans are already underway for the next event to be held during 2020.
Thank you to everyone who assisted with the celebration, including:
- Julie Bond
- FDOT West Central – Tampa Area
- USF College of Engineering
- USF Urban Planning Society
- Bicycle Club at USF
- USF ITE Student Chapter
- Alert Today Florida
- Bike/Walk Tampa Bay
- USF Bullrunner
- USF College of Public Health
- USF Campus Recreation
- Brentin Mosher
- Coast Bike Share
- USF Parking & Transportation Services
- Chuck Henson
- Sun Coast Section – APA Florida
- TBARTA
- Tampa Bay Clean Cities Coalition
- University of South Florida Police Department
- Vision Zero Hillsborough
- WellBuilt Bikes
- Gotcha Scooters
