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Parents raise school-zone and drop-off safety concerns; city traffic engineer cites state road rules
Summary
Parents and residents at a West Side meeting raised safety concerns about school-zone boundaries and charter school drop-off circulation on a state road; the city's chief traffic engineer said school-zone placement follows crosswalk and pedestrian standards and the DOT controls state-road changes.
Parents and residents at a West Side community meeting raised safety concerns about school-zone boundaries and charter school drop-off circulation on a state road. The city's chief of traffic engineering answered and the council member said she would follow up with school and DOT representatives.
A resident asked why a school zone is not extended past a school building, saying motorists can speed past the school and create danger for children. Chris LeDoux, identified in the meeting as the city's Chief of Traffic Engineering, explained that reduced-speed school zones are generally placed prior to a crosswalk and are designed for pedestrian crossings (primarily elementary-age children). He said placement follows a standard distance from crosswalks and is not based on the building frontage.
"When we make a reduced speed school zone, that usually has a yellow flasher and it says legally the speed limit lowers and you have to slow down. It's prior to a crosswalk," LeDoux said, adding that school zones are aimed at pedestrian crossings rather than the driveway frontage of a school compound.
Parents also raised safety issues at Duval Charter Westside (a charter school on 100 Third Street), saying students are dropped off in the middle of 100 Third and that the school's site circulation is not being followed. The council member said 100 Third Street is a state road and that the Florida Department of Transportation (DOT) has regulatory authority over state roads and had previously permitted the school's connection. She said the DOT has asked the charter school to follow an original drop-off plan and that the city will push the school to implement the approved circulation plan.
The council member said she would meet with the new principal at Duval Charter Westside and carry concerns about the drop-off plan to DOT and school leaders.
