From the Best Foot Forward for Pedestrian Safety Program
As students throughout Central Florida prepare for a return to the classroom, the Best Foot Forward for Pedestrian Safety program is gearing up for its quarterly pedestrian safety enforcement effort, dubbed Operation Best Foot Forward, to bring awareness and education to drivers to keep our youngest pedestrians safe as they walk to and from school.
During Operation Best Foot Forward, plainclothes officers and deputies will cross streets at marked crosswalks, giving drivers enough time to slow down and stop safely. Drivers who do not stop as Florida law requires will be pulled over and face a minimum $164 citation and three (3) points on their driver’s license. Most crosswalks chosen for enforcement are within one mile of a school where students walk.
Law enforcement agencies across Brevard, Marion, Orange, Osceola, Seminole, and Volusia Counties will conduct this two-week high-visibility crosswalk enforcement operation starting Tuesday, July 23rd, and concluding Friday, August 2nd. These efforts align with students returning to school in August.
In Apopka, crosswalk enforcement will be on Wednesday, July 31st, between 7:30 and 9 a.m. at the Jason Dwelley Parkway and Brush Drive intersection.
According to data collected by the Best Foot Forward program this year, drivers in Central Florida are only yielding to pedestrians at school crossings 45% of the time.
At Wolf Lake Middle School in Apopka (the Jason Dwelley Parkway and Brush Drive intersection), the yield rate was only 39%.
Additionally, the
American Academy of Pediatrics released a report last year that stated how “child pedestrian mortality rates have shown an increase of 11% since 2013, driven by increases among 10- to 14-year-olds and 15- to 19-year-olds,” demonstrating the need for driver yield law enforcement near schools to protect students that will be walking and biking to their classes in August.
Operation Best Foot Forward is part of the Best Foot Forward coalition’s larger effort to improve road safety. Studies show that driver behavior changes when enforcement strategies, education, and engineering are combined over a sustained period.
Some of the crosswalk locations include:
|
|
|
|
|
Daytona Beach Police Department
|
Turie T. Small Elementary School
|
|
|
|
Wyomina Park Elementary School
|
|
Marion Oaks Course & 149th St.
|
Marion County Sheriff's Office
|
Sunrise Elementary School
|
|
Stadium Pkwy Midblock S. of Judge Fran Jamieson Way
|
Brevard County Sheriff's Office
|
Viera Charter & Viera High School
|
|
S. Atlantic Ave. & Bellemead Dr.
|
Daytona Beach Shores Dept. of Public Safety
|
RJ Longstreet Elementary School
|
|
Oakland Ave. at Oakland Charter School
|
Oakland Police Department
|
|
|
Jason Dwelley & Brush Dr.
|
|
|
|
Millenia Blvd. & Timarron Dr.
|
Orlando Police Department
|
Millennia Gardens Elementary School
|
|
Beggs Rd. & Armstrong Rd.
|
Orange County Sheriff's Office
|
Lockhart Elementary School
|
|
Bear Lake Rd. & McNeil Rd
|
Seminole County Sheriff's Office
|
|
|
E. Airport Blvd. & S. Park Ave.
|
Seminole County Sheriff's Office
|
Pinecrest Elementary School
|
|
10th St. & Mississippi Ave.
|
St. Cloud Police Department
|
St. Cloud Middle School & Michigan Ave. Elementary
|
|
About the Best Foot Forward for Pedestrian Safety Program
The
Best Foot Forward for Pedestrian Safety (BFF) program is administered by the local non-profit Bike/Walk Central Florida (BWCF). BFF was created to minimize the conflict between pedestrians and drivers by focusing on one specific behavior change – getting more drivers to yield for pedestrians at marked crosswalks as Florida law requires. More than a campaign,
Best Foot Forward is a behavior change-based program designed to improve road safety through consistent and persistent education, high-visibility crosswalk enforcement, and low-cost engineering countermeasures at marked crosswalks.
Best Foot Forward operates in six Central Florida counties and is the largest pedestrian-focused grassroots coalition in the nation, working with more than 40 local and regional partners. Since launching in 2012, the percentage of drivers yielding to people in marked crosswalks has increased from 17% to more than 50% on roads with a speed limit of 35 mph and lower and 2% to 45% on roads 40 mph and higher. To learn more, visit
iyield4peds.org.
About Bike/Walk Central Florida:
Bike Walk Central Florida (BWCF) is a regional advocacy organization for bicyclists and pedestrians. Since 2010, the organization has worked on behalf of local pedestrians and bicyclists to advocate for safe and convenient places for people to bike and walk, regardless of where they live or where they need to go. Focusing on their four pillars of policy, perception, practice and sustainability, BWCF works tirelessly to advocate for policies, programs and infrastructure that is fair and accessible to all.
Enforcement Agency
|
Date
|
Start Time
|
End Time
|
Crosswalk Location
|
Orange County Sheriff’s Office
|
Tuesday, July 23
|
8:00 AM
|
10:00 AM
|
|
Volusia County Sheriff’s Office
|
Tuesday, July 23
|
8:00 AM
|
9:30 AM
|
|
Volusia County Sheriff’s Office
|
Tuesday, July 23
|
10:00 AM
|
11:30 AM
|
|
Seminole County Sheriff’s Office
|
Wednesday, July 24
|
8:00 AM
|
9:30 AM
|
|
Seminole County Sheriff’s Office
|
Wednesday, July 24
|
10:00 AM
|
11:30 AM
|
|
Volusia County Sheriff’s Office
|
Wednesday, July 24
|
8:00 AM
|
10:00 AM
|
|
Kissimmee Police Department
|
Wednesday, July 24
|
8:30 AM
|
10:30 AM
|
|
Longwood Police Department
|
Thursday, July 25
|
8:00 AM
|
10:00 AM
|
|
St. Cloud Police Department
|
Thursday, July 25
|
8:00 AM
|
9:30 AM
|
|
St. Cloud Police Department
|
Thursday, July 25
|
9:30 AM
|
11:00 AM
|
|
Daytona Beach Police Department
|
Thursday, July 25
|
8:00 AM
|
9:30 AM
|
|
Daytona Beach Police Department
|
Thursday, July 25
|
10:00 AM
|
11:30 AM
|
|
Melbourne Beach Police Department
|
Thursday, July 25
|
9:00 AM
|
11:00 AM
|
|
Oakland Police Department
|
Thursday, July 25
|
2:00 PM
|
4:00 PM
|
|
Osceola County Sheriff’s Office
|
Friday July 26
|
8:00 AM
|
10:00 AM
|
|
Osceola County Sheriff’s Office
|
Friday, July 26
|
10:30 AM
|
12:30 PM
|
|
Brevard County Sheriff’s Office
|
Monday, July 29
|
9:00 AM
|
11:00 AM
|
|
Marion County Sheriff’s Office
|
Tuesday, July 30
|
7:30 AM
|
9:30 AM
|
|
Ocala Police Department
|
Tuesday, July 30
|
10:30 AM
|
12:30 PM
|
|
Ponce Inlet Police Department
|
Tuesday, July 30
|
10:00 AM
|
12:00 PM
|
|
Apopka Police Department
|
Wednesday, July 31
|
7:30 AM
|
9:00 AM
|
|
Marion County Sheriff’s Office
|
Wednesday, July 31
|
7:30 AM
|
9:30 AM
|
|
New Smyrna Beach Police Department
|
Wednesday, July 31
|
10:00 AM
|
1:00 PM
|
|
Casselberry Police Department
|
Wednesday, July 31
|
2:00 PM
|
4:00 PM
|
|
Orlando Police Department
|
Thursday, August 1
|
8:00 AM
|
10:00 AM
|
|
Daytona Beach Shores Dept. of Public Safety
|
Thursday, August 1
|
9:00 AM
|
11:00 AM
|
|
Oakland Police Department
|
Thursday, August 1
|
2:00 PM
|
4:00 PM
|
|