Winter Haven police issue warnings, citations during crosswalk enforcement operation
WINTER HAVEN, Fla. - With students heading back to school in less than two weeks, raising awareness about safety is top of mind, especially in Polk County, which ranked as one of the deadliest counties for pedestrians in the state.
Operation Best Foot Forward, run by the non-profit, Bike/Walk Central Florida, is a crosswalk enforcement operation.
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By the numbers:
Between 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. in front of St. Joseph Catholic School, Winter Haven police issued 20 warnings and six $164 citations to drivers.
"With our data collection monitoring of this crosswalk so far, it has a 32% of drivers who stop for pedestrians, so that's pretty low," said Jenna Mousseau, the program coordinator with Best Foot Forward.
The majority of drivers didn't know it was the law to stop.
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"I have to think people are a little more distracted," said police spokesperson, Jamie Brown. "They're so engrained in trying to get from point A to point B that they don't even think about it."
The backstory:
In Polk County, more than 20 students were struck by vehicles while walking to and from school last year, and 13 of those students were killed.
With the data they've collected, the program will put together a crosswalk improvement plan.
"We'll list all of the observations we see at the crosswalk like this one as well as giving recommendations of better striping, more signage and low-cost countermeasures that will benefit the city and more people in the area," said Mousseau.
Big picture view:
Polk County is currently the only county in the Tampa Bay area using this data-driven approach to save lives. However, program officials would like to see it spread to Tampa.
"We just want to keep people safe and let people know that everybody has a role to play," said Mousseau.
Including pedestrians and bicyclists who should stop and look both ways before crossing the street.
What's next:
There will be another enforcement operation between 8 and 10 a.m. at Schumate Drive and East Clower Street in Bartow next week.
The Source: The information in this story was gathered by FOX 13's Carla Bayron.