NEW PHOTOS IN LATEST POST
Looks like we will be fairly well attended, Lori Boyer, the Sheriffs Department, media and a number of others are filing into the room at the Ed Ball Building downtown.
We are setting up maps to identify the most critical places to start. Our initial target group for enhanced crosswalks will be middle school and senior citizens age groups, in addition to any glaring bad spots such as bus stops on either side of a broad roadway and no crosswalk for a mile in either direction.
The approach will be comprehensive, including but not limited to; in street LED's, conventional signaling, right or left turn on red, dancing signals, near-field activation, speed controls... in short EVERYTHING we have been pushing for since the birth of MJ.
Attendance includes quite a few people, several other Council staff are floating in and out. Also:
Jim Robinson
Nance JTA
Bike & Pedestrian office
Jax senior center,
senior services
health clinic council
Sheriff
FDOT Safety
TPO
Parent
traffic engineering
dept of health
AARP
TU Just walked in. TV is setting up while Jim Robinson speaks.
This is a work session
The mayor will make an announcement of a multi-agency approach to 'fix' the city Thurs. next week at 9:30 city hall steps.
Okay now the microphone has died...
Lori is charging ahead. Speaking...
She has been reaching out about crosswalks with FDOT for Beach Bl.
This is the optimal time to discuss where the bus stops are, because we don't have crosswalks and crossing guards. Kids coming out of DuPont Middle School are surging across St Augustine Road.
We expect pedestrians to walk and we should expect people to cross the streets.
If we need to move JTA stops to places where there is a better line of sight, we should, where can we add a crosswalk we should.
Denise from Pedestrian/bicycle safety speaking.
Nov is the deadliest month for pedestrians. Halloween is the deadliest day. We had 412 pedestrian crashes with 38 deaths last year. 27% daylight. 78% were not at intersections. 50-50 state and local roads. 75% victims are male, 63% drivers male. Drivers age range in their 20's. 20-50-60 age range of victims. 2013 data.
Attention to the rear of the room, large maps. Every death mapped and it's clear that the arterial roads without crosswalks are deadly.
Lori calling for people to step up and join in to fill in all of the 'holes' as we know where the schools and senior citizens are, but there are many more resources that needs to be pulled in and the citizens have much of that.
JTA has provided every bus shelter site, so can this be moved to a marked crossing.
Crosswalk types
From a stripe
raised
flashing signs
in street LED
$2,100 for striping a four lane
$3,500 in ground lighting
full signalization
A progressive continuing effort.
We've got to educate the motorist's that when someone is in those spaces, we must stop.
Lori:
What else do you know or does your organization know that you could feed back to us. If you have other resources we need to know it.
We are going to bust up and look at maps and have general discussions.
The group said its initial focus is on seniors and students who have to cross the street daily.
"The only way we can hope to deal with that very negative statistic about being the third most dangerous city is to work both on the education of pedestrians and motorists, and provide a safe place where they can cross," said City Council member Lori Boyer. (http://www.news4jax.com/news/crosswalk-coalition-aims-to-make-jacksonville-safe-for-pedestrians/29300238)
And unsurprisingly, the first comment is: "Will never happen. I saw 6 people jaywalk in one hour while eating lunch. The people of Jacksonville are just to stupid to obey the pedestrian laws. Low and behold they were all Blacks."
For politicians walking is something people have to do not something they'd choose to do and the only ways to make it safer are to "educate" or make fancier crosswalks. For a vocal minority (I'd hope) of the public, walking is something only stupid black people do. I'm not optimistic.
Um... We are where the coalition began. D U V A L !
"The purpose of the meeting is to discuss the location of crosswalks in relation to senior living facilities, bus stops, middle schools, and accident data; review types and costs of various crosswalks as well as criteria for appropriate locations." (http://www.coj.net/city-council/events/all-events/council-member-public-meeting-crosswalk-coalition.aspx)
A trip of 10,000 miles starts with a single step. We have made that step.
@ $3K to $75K a pop, there isn't money enough to jump out and hit 60 hot spots all at once, but as we bring this together we can find those places and find sponsors for the improvements. Nobody thinks this is an overnight fix, but to throw up our hands and say it can't be done is to be defeated without a battle.
(https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3932/15425131739_a596dd7581_z.jpg)
Denise explaining the dots are pedestrian collisions/accidents and the little red people symbols are scenes of deaths.
(https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5604/15425667998_33c1af68f6_z.jpg)
103rd appears to be the single most deadly road in 2013.
(https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3942/15426185290_17a89d0671_z.jpg)
(https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5606/15588115266_2240a01bf2_c.jpg)
Police Chief Cook told me a trial at enhanced patrols with emphasis on right turns on red/with occupied crosswalks, jay-walking, speed and school zones cut the deaths by a little more then half on the Philips/San Jose corridors last year.