As thousands descend upon Downtown for this year’s edition of One Spark, it’s inevitable there will be at least a few lawbreakers.
Jaywalkers. Bike riders without proper safety equipment. Drivers not yielding to pedestrians.
Minor offenses some might think, but ones the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office the past several months has been taking a stricter approach to as part of its participation in a statewide program.
It’s called the “Alert Today Alive Tomorrow” initiative started by the Florida Department of Transportation and University of South Florida.
The program seeks to reduce accidents involving pedestrians and bicyclists in high-profile areas throughout some of Florida’s most offending counties.
Duval County places among the top 10, which opens it up to the program and some funding from the FDOT to pay for overtime traffic deployment.
The latest round of funding saw almost $52,000 go toward the Sheriff’s Office, which is using the money to step up efforts in four areas.
One is a large portion of Downtown with borders east of Interstate 95, south of State Street, west of Washington Street and north of Water Street.
Other enforcement areas include dozens of blocks along 103rd Street, University Boulevard and Philips Highway.
Past rounds of funding since 2014 concentrated just on Philips Highway and 103rd Street corridors.
The latest round includes Downtown, where statistics show there is a need.
From 2014 through May 2015, there were almost 1,400 crashes, 250 injuries and two fatalities reported for the area.
Stepped-up enforcement efforts for the latest round began in January and run through May. Squads of officers and a sergeant essentially patrol the areas on dedicated days looking for offenders in four-hour windows.
And they’re not just looking for vehicles.
For instance, the last Downtown enforcement period Feb. 25 resulted in 278 pedestrians and 16 cyclists being stopped.
Prior to that, on Jan. 26, 143 pedestrians and 24 bikers heard from officers.
They were issued warnings, with many receiving educational materials about the program and why they were being stopped.
In areas outside of Downtown, offending bike riders were provided lights from the FDOT.
“It’s a tremendous opportunity to have important conversations about this with citizens,” said sheriff’s office spokeswoman Lauri-Ellen Smith.
The warning period ends soon, though.
Similar to red-light cameras becoming active at intersections, the first phase of the Alert Today program allows for just verbal and written warnings.
Smith said the public notice of the program shifting to the next phase will be out before the end of the week.
That means the jaywalkers, bikers who don’t properly signal and other offenders might find themselves slapped with a ticket.
Results are sent to FDOT and the USF Center for Urban Transportation Research for analysis to find trends over time.
Smith said the hope is for future funding to see year-over-year results on the accident numbers in the dedicated areas.
And by educating people and having that dedicated enforcement effort, it’s a chance to change behaviors before the worst happens.
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