by Mike Sharkey
Staff Writer
Dorothy Johnson counts things for a living these days. People, cars, buses, bicyclists — all simply with a click of either thumb.
Three people headed south on Laura Street to the Landing — click, click, click. Two others eastbound on Forsyth — click, click with the other thumb. Sounds easy enough, but when things get busy, Johnson must constantly scan all four directions and both sides of both streets.
“You have to know who you are getting,” she said. “You don’t want to click someone twice.”
Johnson retired from the Duval County School Board after 30 years. Today, she works part-time for a company that monitors vehicular and pedestrian traffic in busy neighborhouds all over Jacksonville.
Thursday wasn’t Johnson’s and her coworkers’ first day counting people. She and three others have been Downtown the past few weeks. They spent two weeks counting vehicles and this week and next they’ll count people. While she only works three days a week, they are three long days.
“We start at 7 a.m. and we’ll be here until 6 p.m.,” said Johnson, who was equipped with a chair, rain jacket and umbrella. She also gets breaks throughout the day, usually at slower traffic times.
It may seem like one of the more boring jobs around. However, Johnson and the others must be alert. And, there is a little time for socializing.
“I meet some interesting people. Some of them talk to us and ask us what we are doing,” said Johnson, who actually had her picture taken by a couple of tourists who saw her near one of the Otis Smith Foundation’s Big Cats for Kids.
Johnson grew up in Jacksonville and has counted people and vehicles all over town. She said this job was great because it was close to home and it was an opportunity to spend time Downtown — an area she hadn’t paid as much attention to in a while.
“It has changed for the good,” she said. “There are a lot of things to come to now — the Landing, Alltel Stadium and the library is good.”