As part of the Best Foot Forward campaign the Orlando Police Department is out enforcing pedestrian crossings across the City this week.
Yesterday police were out at Michigan St and Orange Ave and they will setup across the city and county the rest of the week including in the Florida Hospital area tomorrow.
Plain-clothed police officers attempt to cross at the pedestrian crossing.
Drivers not stopping for pedestrians are issued a warning or a $164 ticket and three points on their license.
According to state law, all drivers must yield to a pedestrian if they are in a marked cross walk even if cross walk traffic signals are not present.
This enforcement is set up to coincide with School Crossing Guard Awareness month.
Back in October we spent the day with a similar enforcement taking place at the Urban Train crossing at Virginia Drive. You can see video of that operation here.
All crosswalk signals should be altered to remain white the entire time the corresponding traffic signal is green. Right now, that’s not the case as the signal quickly goes from white to a ten second countdown that ends with no traffic signal change. So confusing and dangerous for pedestrians.
Great! Real pedestrian walk ways that can be SEEN
Actually most crosswalks are UNmarked. Florida law (as well as all the other states) define a crosswalk as the continuation of the lateral lines of the sidewalk across the roadway. And since the legal definition of the sidewalk includes the unpaved right-of-way, that means there are legal sidewalks on virtually every street and crosswalks at every intersection. Crosswalk law requires a driver to yield to a pedestrian who is legally in a crosswalk, whether that crosswalk is marked or not.
Mighk Wilson
Bicycle and Pedestrian Planner
MetroPlan Orlando