The Tallahassee Police Department (TPD) is beginning a new High Visibility Enforcement (HVE) detail to reduce the number of traffic crashes involving pedestrians or bicyclists. The campaign starts on November 1 and will continue through May 2022.
Tallahassee is one of the top 15 cities in the state for these kinds of traffic crashes resulting in serious or fatal injuries. So far in 2021, Tallahassee has had two pedestrians and two bicyclists who have suffered from fatal injuries in traffic crashes.
The goal is to increase compliance and awareness regarding traffic laws in these pre-determined areas, Monroe, Tennessee, and Macomb streets. The enforcement effort is funded through a contract with the University of North Florida in partnership with the Florida Department of Transportation.
According to the press release from TPD, the enforcement efforts will focus primarily on education to drivers, pedestrians, and bicyclists; however, violations may result in warnings or citations depending on the circumstances.
Tallahassee Police detective, William Deming, told local news WTXL what officers will be looking for during the enforcement period. “Speed is probably the big factor, pedestrians not obeying or walking across crosswalks,” said Deming and he added, “poor lighting, dark clothing, vehicles not being able to see them, impairment’s also a factor…”
The areas, days, and times of the HVE details are listed below:
• Monroe Street from Balsam Terrace to Callaway Road from 11 a.m. to midnight on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays
• West Pensacola Street from Appleyard Drive to Flamingo Way from 12-9 p.m. on Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays
• West Tennessee Street from Tennessee Capital Boulevard to Anole Drive from 2 p.m. to 3 a.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays
• U.S. 90 from Macomb Street to Meridian Street from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays
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Around the university you’re going to have pedestrian/automotive traffic clashes. Drivers need to be keenly aware that there are potentially 30,000 people walking to class, lunch, home, etc. Several years ago one of my office mates was killed trying to cross the street near the campus at Duval. She was confined to a wheelchair, at the intersection/crosswalk, and was struck and killed. That’s on the driver and never should have happened. About 2 years ago one of my wife’s coworkers was hit crossing Tennessee Street at Calhoun. (She’s fine now.) That’s the reason there’s now a delay on the Calhoun side when the light changes — to give pedestrians exclusive use of the intersection for a few seconds.
I was driving east down Gaines about three years ago and out of nowhere, at least two dozen bicyclists came flying full-speed into my lane from a side road like they were in a race and I did not exist! About 4 of them almost hit me within a fraction of a second, and I absolutely had the right-of-way. Scary!
But I hit the brakes, and stopped on a dime while they flew by me.
So it goes both ways.
I think they should make you take a safety course before buying a bicycle – fund that, UNF.
TallaNasty is a typical progressive, socialist, feel-good, do-nothing dystopia. Too often you see cyclists and pedestrians act and behave as if they are 2,000-pound plus vehicles. How many times have we all counted the imbecilic pedestrians dodging and weaving through traffic to the medians completely ignoring cross walks 25 feet away? Walking an extra few feet and pushing a crosswalk button is hard don’t you know? How many times have we seen imbecilic cyclists weave in and out of traffic or clog a canopy road because share the road, don’t you know? I vote we implement the first inaugural TallaNasty Darwin Awards for the pedestrian or cyclist who removes themselves from the gene pool in a most glorious manner!
What Mike L said… (insert thumbs up here)
The only thing worse than a college student with car keys is a grad student with car keys. We have more than 50,000 of them who just can’t wait 5 seconds for anything. The number of people actually being run down in our city is far below what I would expect.
I’m guessing they want to take credit for fixing a problem we don’t have rather than using those resources to go after the true community threats.
These are just marketing campaigns with deadlines and outside budgets. Do your job with our money and make the city a safe place…How bout that? its a fairly simple set of orders.
Why advertise areas, days and times? Just tell officers to be vigilant and give tickets or arrest violators!
What TPD is reluctant to say is that 3 of the locations are related to homeless camps and the homeless Kerney Center. The other is related to FSU. The grant funding and the associated TPD activity may save some lives. Its kind of a bandaid effect but its all we have because the main issue of homelessness is too tough to address in a liberal communitty ran by Democrats.
Outside funding? Partnered with? Dumb as usual for Leon County.
Why is it that every project has a Time Limit and requires Funding from an outside source? What extra Funding do you need to pull people over and give them either Warnings or Tickets and tell them WHY they were pulled over?
“The enforcement effort is funded through a contract with the University of North Florida in partnership with the Florida Department of Transportation.”? WHY? Just do it. Just tell your Officers in that sector to Patrol the needed areas more often and pull over the Speeders, the pedestrians and bicyclists and start giving out the Tickets. THAT should be all the awareness and education needed. Do it Daily, EVERYDAY.