ORLANDO, FL – As students throughout Central Florida prepare for a return to the classroom,…
Operation Best Foot Forward Reminds Drivers to Watch for Pedestrians Near Parks & Trails
Operation Best Foot Forward completed its latest quarterly pedestrian safety enforcement from April 30 – May 10, with 18 law enforcement agencies across six counties issuing 488 warnings and citations to drivers that failed to yield to pedestrians. Many of the crosswalk locations chosen for this enforcement were located near parks and trail crossings. In total, there were 25 crosswalk locations enforced across Brevard, Marion, Orange, Osceola, Seminole, and Volusia Counties.
During Operation Best Foot Forward, plainclothes officers, deputies, and volunteers cross streets at marked crosswalks, giving drivers enough time to slow down and stop safely. Drivers who do not stop as Florida law requires face a $164 citation and three (3) points on their license. These enforcements support the Target Zero and Vision Zero campaigns that aim to reduce traffic-related serious injuries and fatalities to zero.
Some of the crosswalk locations targeted near parks and trails include:
| Crosswalk Locations | Enforcement Agency | Nearby Park or Trail |
| Oakland Ave. & Sansparilla Rd. | Oakland Police Department | West Orange Trail & Oakland Nature Preserve |
| N. Hoagland Blvd. at Kissimmee Trail | Osceola County Sheriff’s Office | Kissimmee Trail |
| N. Thacker Ave. at Kissimmee Trail | Kissimmee Police Department | Kissimmee Trail |
| S. Beach St. & Cedar St. | Daytona Beach Police Department | Bethune Point Park |
| S. Atlantic Ave. & Ocean Ave | New Smyrna Police Department | Marianne Clancy Park |
| N. Forsyth Rd. at Cady Way Trail | Orange County Sheriff’s Office | Cady Way Trail |
| S. Atlantic Ave. & Winterhaven Park | Ponce Inlet Police Department | Winterhaven Park |
| W. Central Blvd. & Bayside Dr. | Brevard County Sheriff’s Office (Cape Canaveral) | Manatee Sanctuary Park & Banana River Park |
| Greenwood Pkwy & Buttonwood Dr. | Seminole County Sheriff’s Office | Cross Seminole Trail |
| SE 95th St. at Santos Trail | Marion County Sheriff’s Office | Santos Trail |
| Jason Dwelley Pkwy & Brush Dr. | Apopka Police Department | Jason Dwelley Park |
| Ronald Reagan Blvd & SR 434 | Longwood Police Department | Reiter Park |
In addition to working with Sheriff’s Offices from Brevard, Marion, Orange, Osceola, and Seminole Counties, police departments from Apopka, Cape Canaveral, Casselberry, Daytona Beach Shores, Indian Harbour Beach, New Smyrna Beach, Orlando, St. Cloud and Winter Park also returned as participants of Operation Best Foot Forward. For the first time, police departments from Daytona Beach and Ponce Inlet also joined the operation.
Thank you to our local digital and news broadcast media for bringing awareness to the enforcement, with 38 media placements reminding an estimated 400,000 Central Florida viewers that it’s the law in Florida to yield to pedestrians in crosswalks. We’d also like to give a special shout out to all our Best Foot Forward partners who were able to attend a crosswalk enforcement to support, including elected officials such as Brevard County Commissioner Rob Feltner, New Smyrna Beach Commissioner Lisa Martin, Cape Canaveral Council Member Don Willis, Apopka Commissioners Diane Velazquez and Nick Nesta, Apopka Mayor Bryan Nelson, and Casselberry Mayor David Henson, as well as individuals from:
- Orlando Health
- River to Sea TPO
- Space Coast TPO
- Osceola County Government
- Orange County Government
- Seminole County Government
- Volusia County Government
- City of Casselberry
- City of Kissimmee
- City of Daytona Beach Shores
- Town of Ponce Inlet
- Bike/Walk Central Florida Board of Directors
Additional pictures are available to view on our Operation Best Foot Forward Flickr album. To see the full enforcement schedule with an interactive map of the crosswalk locations, visit iyield4peds.org/operationbff
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