The City of Miami is trying to stop accidents involving pedestrians and bicyclists and focusing on the most dangerous intersections in the city.
You’ll soon notice Miami Police officers stationed at intersections across the city handing out pamphlets where there are the most pedestrian or bicycle safety concerns.
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“This operation is specifically designed as a grant during the month of January all the way until May and basically we’re trying save lives," said Miami Police Capt. Freddie Cruz. "We’re trying to educate the community."
This effort is part of an operation called Alert Today Florida -- a partnership with the University of North Florida and the Florida Department of Transportation -- which is funding the program.
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"We’re going to be in different areas of the city," Cruz added. "There has been a traffic study designed where these intersections are more prone to the jay walking, so we’re definitely going to be out there enforcing it."
The study identified over 60 locations that have been found as problematic for pedestrian or bike accidents in Miami.
Of these, officers will be stationed at the five following intersections:
- West Flagler Street from 37th Avenue to 34th Avenue
- Northwest 36th Street from Northwest 22nd Avenue to Northwest 20th Avenue
- Northeast 54th Street from Northwest 2nd Avenue to US-1
- Northwest 79th Street from Northwest 5th Avenue to North Miami Avenue
- Biscayne Boulevard from 17th Terrace to Northeast 25th Street
Phase one is education. In a couple of weeks, phase two will begin which will be a zero tolerance approach for people who are caught violating traffic laws or endangering public safety, especially at pedestrian crossings.
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"This is not just for pedestrians but drivers also need to focus their attention on the road," Cruz said. "We actually saw a vehicle stop right here at the cross walk and there was a group of of elderly people that were crossing from one side of the other and they had to work their way around then and it shouldn’t be that way. So those drivers will get cited as well as they have to stay behind the line.”
Across the state, pedestrian traffic deaths have been on the rise.
According to a New York Times analysis of federal road fatality data, pedestrian fatalities in Florida have increased 75% since 2009.
The goal of this enforcement effort is to raise awareness about following these traffic laws and to decrease these pedestrian accidents.
