ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. — In St Johns County five crashes have led to multiple fatalities in about a week. Simultaneously, county leaders are giving the green light to a pedestrian safety initiative called Operation Best Foot Forward.
The program got a proclamation of “enthusiastic support,” from officials in St. Johns County to continue its mission of reducing pedestrian deaths at crosswalks.
“That allows agencies within St. John’s County to be able to collaborate with us on improving the driver yield rate at crosswalks” said program director Vince Dyer.
The nonprofit “Bike/Walk Central Florida” locates the most dangerous crosswalks, and then recommends structural changes to slow drivers down.
“We’ve seen so far the data that we’ve collected that single light intersections are so far looking pretty good. Ones that have, like, the flashing beacons, as long as you press the button, are looking pretty good” Dyer explained further.
How is a dangerous intersection determined? It’s through their sting operation called yes — “Operation Best Foot Forward.”
Action News Jax showed you the cloak-and-dagger operation in April where undercover officers cross a sidewalk with no pedestrian traffic light to see if drivers would stop.
When multiple drivers failed to yield, they were subsequently pulled over.
If you fail to yield to pedestrians, it’s going to cost you. According to Bike/Walk Central Florida that’ll be a $164 minimum fine and three points on your license.
That was in Jacksonville and the program is also continuing in St John’s.
“It’s an awareness campaign. They’re not trying to trick people. They’re not trying to ruin people’s lives. It’s just a way to let people know that you are expected to stop and if they’re paying attention at crosswalks” Dyer added.
St John’s County has seen five crashes with multiple fatalities in under a week.
Action News Jax obtained a 2024 letter in which FDOT denied a Ponte Vedra businessman’s request for speed limit reduction along A1A as the stretch didn’t meet the criteria.
“What’s better is to change the roads so that you naturally feel like you need to slow down. Things like making the lanes a little bit more narrow, putting up vertical barriers, flex posts.” Dyer said.
Operation Best Foot Forward says they will continue daily collection, education, and enforcement, until no more pedestrians are killed.
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