City and school leaders gathered Wednesday night at a town hall to address student pedestrian safety after multiple accidents, fatalities in Duval County.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Wednesday night, city and school leaders came together to try to find solutions on how to make the roads safer for kids.
District 3 school board member Cindy Pearson and District 5 City Councilman Joe Carlucci hosted a student safety town hall to hear concerns from parents and students.
From flashing crosswalks to lowering speed limits and raised sidewalks, no idea was off the table tonight from parents and students.
The first week of school in Duval County, three students were hit getting to and from school, one of them killed.
Last year, Pearson said 43 students in Duval County were hit and three died.
“When a student is killed that dinner table that night and forever more is changed,” said Superintendent Dr. Christopher Bernier at Wednesday’s town hall.
These tragedies brought parents, students, school and city leaders together Wednesday night for a town hall. The focus was student pedestrian safety.
James Hopkins is a DCPS parent who wants to see raised sidewalks, like the ones seen at airports.
“I live in San Marco. My boys walk to Landon,” Hopkins said. “It makes it safer for pedestrians crossing but it also forces cars to slow down.”
Parents shared concerns they noticed while dropping their kids off and picking them up like; speeding and not enough crosswalks.
Some even pointed out areas where they’ve noticed parents letting their children out of the car before the drop off location
Students like Avalon Miller and Kai Okada said safety shouldn’t stop at the elementary level
“I think that all of these safety measures we’re implementing into primary education also need to be implemented into secondary; bus stops, crosswalks and everything in between,” said Miller.
“After those couple kids got hit and some of them died, it really feels good that some people care,” said Okada.
Pearson and Carlucci were taking notes on recommendations heard Wednesday night and promising to follow up.
“There are definitely some things we’re gonna follow up on and figure out who owns what part of it and get that moving,” Pearson said.
“I think everybody having their say in this is a really good idea because everybody sees something a little bit different and has a different perspective and I think we can fix a lot of problems working together,” Miller said.
Superintendent Dr. Bernier and Board member Pearson also reminded parents about the ‘Be safe, Be seen’ campaign that provides guidance for students on how to safely walk and bike to and from school.