The Hillsborough County Metropolitan Planning Organization's Transportation Committee approved a series of road projects Tuesday evening designed to shorten commutes and make roads safer.

  • 5-year funding plan approved
  • Projects include flashing crosswalks, additional traffic lights
  • Roads include Hillsborough Avenue, Florida Avenue, Kennedy Boulevard

More than a hundred people turned out for a public hearing on the plan Tuesday.

Among them was Jaime Rubscha, who told the committee about running along Bayshore Boulevard on Dec. 13, 2014. She said she was in the crosswalk when she was hit by a car going about 40 mph.

"It was a long, long road before I actually felt like I didn't have any pain at all between the concussion, the broken leg, the skull fracture, the torn rotator cuff, the list goes on and on," she said.

Rubscha said she wants to advocate for streets to be designed better.

"I'm here to tell you I never thought I would be hit by a car," she told committee members. "You or someone you know will be next."

The committee passed a 5-year-funding plan that would include significant improvements, such as flashing crosswalks, additional sidewalks and additional traffic lights along many main corridors in the county.

Some roads on the list for improvement include Hillsborough Avenue, Florida Avenue and Kennedy Boulevard.

Rubscha said she still goes to physical therapy, and she doesn't want anyone else to suffer like she has.

"People really need to educate themselves on what all this really means for the overall safety of the community, their neighbors, their families versus getting from point A to point B," she said.