Gary Hartfield Advocates for Safer Streets at Gulf Coast Summit

Let’s face it—Tampa Bay isn’t exactly known for safe streets. Whether you’re driving, walking, or biking, the risks are real. That’s why the Gulf Coast Safe Streets Summit is such an important event. This year, it brought together community leaders, transportation pros, and industry experts to talk about how we can “inspire doable change”—the theme of the 2025 summit. 

We kicked things off with mobile tours, led by TPO staffers Ben Gordon and Wyatt Burttschell, showcasing efforts to make Tampa more walkable and connected. Ben’s group learned about the history of the Water Street neighborhood from its initial development in 2017 to the present. It has become a dense and vibrant waterfront community. The group toured the Thousand & One office complex and learned about its “biophilic,” nature-oriented design. They walked around the neighborhood and observed art sculptures, trees, and other urban design efforts to beautify the area. The Selmon Greenway was the location Wyatt’s group explored. The unique urban trail has transformed underutilized space beneath the expressway into a pedestrian and cycling corridor with pocket parks. They learned about the history, from the initial concepts of creating safer, more accessible connections through downtown Tampa to its role in promoting multimodal transportation. The tour highlighted the co-benefits of the greenway’s design, including the cooling effects of its landscaping and structural shade, which enhances walkability, and the way it maximizes the space beneath the Selmon Expressway to provide a comfortable, protected route through the city. Wyatt’s group discussed ongoing efforts to enhance and expand the Greenway, including future connectivity improvements, landscaping enhancements, and connections to future residential Ybor developments.