Stereotypes aide this US community is pedestrian-friendly

A Canadian stereotype is that the United States must be worse in almost every way, from health care to guns to crime and, oh, urban car-centric wastelands. A lot of that is true but a lot isn't. I've always been impressed by how SE Michigan is much more advanced than say Windsor-Essex or really anywhere in Canada with its longtime metro parks, huge green spaces featuring trails, picnics, swimming and canoeing - sometimes camping - within Detroit's sprawling suburbs. Or the conversion of rails to trails, light years ahead of home. Or the use of cemeteries as area for people to walk for exercise. And in Florida, pedestrian-centric neighborhoods go the extra mile, so to speak. Here in Indian Rocks Beach on the barrier

island between the Gulf and mainland in the greater Tampa Bay area, pedestrians might not necessarily rule but there are still lots in the way of protecting or giving them courtesy and priority, to an extent I've never seen in Ontario. Start with the pedestrian crossings (photo), which have long been a feature of life here and just emerging now at home, where all a pedestrian has to do is press a button and the lights starts flashing and motorists grind to a halt. Where I am on the beach strip these crossings are spaced every few hundred feet. As well, pedestrians and motorists are told to respect the residents in nearby communities: "Please Keep Noise to a Minimum" with "Quiet Hours" designated overnight. At intervals signs stating "State Law" advises motorists to "Stop for Pedestrians In Crosswalks." Finally, unlike at home where bereaved families of those in fatal accidents build their own roadway memorials, in Florida the state provides signs with the names of those who have died: "Drive Safely - in Memory of ...." 

- Ron Stang, Windsor Ontario Canada, a frequent traveller