City traffic engineers, the sheriff's office and school officials used the joint meeting to describe gaps in school-zone infrastructure, enforcement capacity and funding pathways, and to ask elected leaders for clearer prioritization.

City traffic engineer Chris LeDoux explained the difference between a school crossing (a controlled intersection with stop sign or signal) and a school zone (reduced-speed stretches marked by flashing yellow lights). He described three commonly used devices: rapid rectangular flashing beacons (RRFBs), pedestrian hybrid or HAWK signals, and raised crosswalks/speed tables. "RRFBs bring awareness but don't carry the force of law; HAWKs display a red indication and carry legal stopping requirements, and they work better on multilane high-speed corridors, though they cost more and require coordination of corridor timing," LeDoux said.

LeDoux said the city's current policy sets thresholds for elementary school zones at locations with 10 student crossings on higher-speed roads and 40 crossings on lower-speed roads; he also said the policy dates from 1992 and is under review. He urged local officials to add priority projects to the county/DOT list because the Florida Department of Transportation now places projects into a single funding pot rather than a dedicated school-safety pot. "If they have any priority projects, it should go on the list of priority projects for the county, and the DOT will consider them that way," he said.

Enforcement and staffing: Commander Scott Lundquist of the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office said JSO currently staffs about 290 crossing guards with roughly 325 openings (vacancies). JSO is recruiting more officers and expanding traffic-unit deployments in school areas. Lundquist and others said crossing-guard recruitment and retention remain operational constraints; some council members urged raising pay and adding recruitment resources.

Questions and next steps: Council members repeatedly asked how to speed up fixes and secure FDOT cooperation on state roads that intersect school corridors; several asked public-works to create a dedicated liaison or expedited process for school-related traffic requests. City staff said they have started a pilot sidewalk inventory and speed-monitoring database that will identify missing sidewalk network links and segments with elevated speeds, and that the city's capital/budgeting cycle (January planning) is the practical window to advance priority projects.

What was not decided: No new capital commitments were approved at the meeting. DOT did not send a representative and individual project timelines (for example, a HAWK at Andrew Jackson High School on Main Street) currently lack construction funding, LeDoux said.

Ending: Officials agreed to follow up with targeted meetings, and the chair proposed a high-level session with the mayor's office, school leadership and public-works staff to prioritize school-safety capital requests before the January budget process.