The Smart Communities Team held a Broadband Summit in April 2023 to discuss trends, challenges, and opportunities for Broadband in Polk. Among the panelists were industry leaders, policy makers, and government agencies.

The Smart Communities LEAD Team continues its work in educating and building community consensus around the vital importance of a robust broadband network to support Polk County’s economic growth and prosperity.

Affordable, accessible high-speed internet facilitates many critical activities:

• Enables small businesses to compete in a global marketplace

• Means safer streets and communities

• Supports research and training at colleges and universities

• Greater opportunities for our students

• Better, faster, more effective healthcare

The Smart Communities Team aided by the Government Advisory Team drafted a formal Resolution supporting broadband expansion that has been adopted by:

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Serving as Co-Chairs of the Smart Communities Team has been an incredibly rewarding experience for both of us. This year, we’ve seen real momentum as long-standing broadband commitments from our Internet Service Provider partners have begun to take shape across Polk County. It’s been powerful to witness the shift from planning to implementation, and soon, to meaningful digital adoption and everyday use. The support and collaboration among our team and stakeholders have made this progress possible, and it’s only the beginning. We’re proud to be part of a forward-thinking group dedicated to using technology as a bridge that connects people, enriches lives, and strengthens our communities. The momentum is real, and the future is smart.

David Palmer
Director of Information Technology, Polk County Board of County Commissioners, Smart Communities Team Co-Chair

Chad Tagtow
Senior Vice President & Chief Innovation Officer, Citizens Bank and Trust,Smart Communities Team Co-Chair

Infrastructure: Focus on Sidewalks

Polk Vision and the Polk Transportation Planning Organization (TPO) have a shared goal of reducing pedestrian injuries and fatalities. Sidewalks are an important component of aligning resources to establish pedestrian connections between developed areas, schools, and parks and provide a healthy and safe environment.

On a typical school day, thousands of school children throughout the county are walking along portions of major roads in order to get to and from school or a bus stop and many of these roads lack sidewalks. Polk Vision’s Infrastructure: Pedestrian & Bicycle Safety Team in partnership with the Polk TPO has evaluated the sidewalk needs surrounding 140 Public Schools in Polk County and identified 179 miles (28%) of major roads within one mile of a school that do not have sidewalks.

As part of this evaluation, the top 74 schools with the least amount of sidewalks were evaluated and a list of sidewalk needs for these schools has been developed.

The Infrastructure: Pedestrian & Bicycle Safety Team is sharing this list of candidate projects with municipal and county leaders and is seeking formal resolutions of support for closing these sidewalk gaps. A number of sidewalk projects included in the school sidewalk evaluation have been approved and funded by Polk County and the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) and are scheduled for construction within the next few years. The Infrastructure: Pedestrian & Bicycle Safety Team will continue to coordinate with Polk County and various local governments, as well as the Polk TPO and FDOT in order to obtain funding for additional sidewalk needs identified within one mile of a public school.

Candidate Sidewalk Projects

• • Phase I (2017) – 10 Public Schools. 59 Candidate Sidewalk Projects (23 miles) with an estimated cost of $8.7 Million

• • Phase II (2018) – 20 Public Schools. 84 Candidate Sidewalk Projects (35 miles) with an estimated cost of $13.1 Million

• • Phase III (2019) – 63 Corridors. 63 Candidate Sidewalk Projects (46 miles) and 137 street light improvements. The estimated cost has not been determined at this time.

Did you know?

Visit the Polk County Sidewalk Advisory Committee.

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Pedestrian & Bicycle Safety

Drivers in Polk County hit and kill pedestrians and bicyclists more frequently than drivers in larger and more densely populated counties in Florida. The Pedestrian & Bicycle Safety Team’s goal is to decrease the number of pedestrians and bicyclists injured and killed in crashes. Recognizing that changing the culture takes time and commitment, the 35-member Team is comprised of individuals from a wide variety of local governmental agencies, hospitals, K-12, higher education, and private businesses. The Team has devised a multi-pronged approach to making Polk County a safer place for pedestrians and bicyclists based on Education, Enforcement, and Engineering. In 2019, the Team’s tactical plan was finalized and includes: safety messaging, engineering (including conducting road audits), public outreach, and in-school education.

The work of the Infrastructure: Pedestrian & Bicycle Safety Team has resulted in a deeper collaboration between the Polk County TPO and Polk County Public Schools to increase educational efforts on the issue of pedestrian and bicycle safety. In addition, the Team has aligned efforts to prioritize sidewalk coverage around Polk County Public Schools. This year, the team shared a collection of resources and lessons designed for physical education teachers to easily access to teach our elementary and middle school students about pedestrian and bicycle safety. This collection was the result of a two-year project from the Safe Routes to School Grant awarded to the Polk County TPO. Team members and TPO Staff worked with the consultant AE Com to develop an accessible resource site for our schools and community. During the development, feedback was given from district teachers and administrators. In our initial talks with district leaders, we realized much more focus needed to be given to the issue than Kindergarten through 8th-grade class lessons.

The school district and Superintendent Heid have committed to raising awareness of creating safer environments for our students to travel to and from school and reducing the tragic statistics surrounding it. In conjunction with the Polk County Public Schools public relations department, the campaign “Extra Care Getting There” has been deployed. The campaign will include social media posts, posters, messaging, and signs within the school community and all Polk County communities. This is a huge win for our community and helps us move one step closer to being a safer community for the residents of Polk County. We hope you all will join us in helping spread the word “Take Extra Care in Getting There.”

Unfortunately, far too many people are severely injured or killed on Polk County’s roadways every year. The numbers are a reminder that more must be done. The Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety Team is focused on improving the safety of our roadways and has a goal of zero injuries and fatalities. Vision Zero is a holistic strategy aimed at eliminating all traffic fatalities and severe injuries suffered by all road users while increasing safe, healthy, equitable mobility for all. It has been an honor to work with the Team over the last year on the initiatives that have improved the safety for
bicyclists and pedestrians in Polk County. I look forward to continuing to work with the Team and our many partners through Polk Vision to make a difference towards achieving Vision Zero.

Ryan Kordek, CPM, GISP
Executive Director, Polk TPO
Pedestrian & Bicycle Safety Team Chair