{"id":21362,"date":"2024-08-12T10:10:42","date_gmt":"2024-08-12T14:10:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/?p=21362"},"modified":"2024-08-12T10:10:42","modified_gmt":"2024-08-12T14:10:42","slug":"orange-county-taking-back-to-school-pedestrian-safety-seriously","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsroom.ocfl.net\/2024\/08\/orange-county-taking-back-to-school-pedestrian-safety-seriously\/","title":{"rendered":"Orange County Taking Back to School Pedestrian Safety Seriously"},"content":{"rendered":"

With Orange County Public Schools gearing up for the 2024\/2025 school year, it is more important than ever that returning students remain safe as they walk or ride their bikes to and from school, and Orange County Public Works is ensuring this is the case by making safety improvements as part of the County\u2019s Vision Zero<\/a> and Accelerated Transportation Safety programs<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Such improvements were recently made on Oak Ridge Road by Millenia Blvd. and Orange Blossom Trail. Two schools \u2014 Sadler Elementary School and Westridge Middle School \u2014 are located within this busy traffic corridor, and extensive safety measures are now in place to make school children safer.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis corridor originally included five lanes with a two-way left-turn center lane that created an issue with conflicting movements, so we needed to address this\u201d said Humberto Castillero, manager, Orange County Public Works Department. \u201cAdditionally, it\u2019s heavily traveled by pedestrians, so we placed an emphasis on pedestrian and bicycle improvements.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Strategic safety improvements in this corridor included widening the existing sidewalk; constructing a raised median with landscaping in the two-way left-turn center lane; improving midblock-crossing; enhancing lighting; creating easier transit rider crossings; upgrading traffic signals; installing pedestrian barriers; and resurfacing the roadways and intersections.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to make sure we\u2019re committed to the planning, construction, design and implementation of road safety improvements, as well as preventing all pedestrian fatalities as part of Vision Zero,\u201d explained Castillero. \u201cThe goal is to get this message out into the community so residents become more aware, follow traffic rules and obey signs.\u201d<\/p>\n

Castillero stressed this safe systems approach focuses less on drivers and more on multi-modal travelers \u2014 bicyclists, pedestrians and public transit riders \u2014 which includes school children.<\/p>\n

\u201cKids should be focused on getting good grades, not surviving getting to and from school,\u201d he asserted. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot going on when kids get dropped off and picked up, so everything around them needs to focus on safety, and the impetus is to go above the minimum with engineering, education, enforcement and emergency response.\u201d<\/p>\n

This, he added, includes having clear and visible signage, proper signaling, reduced speed limits, raised crosswalks\/vertical deflections, pedestrian barriers, and night lighting.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d recommend that parents are aware of surrounding traffic conditions before the first day of school by doing a trial run beforehand,\u201d said Castillero. \u201cThe first day of school is chaotic and daunting, so becoming familiar to any changes from last year, and making sure your children understand the importance of safety is critical. This will help them to think ahead of time.\u201d<\/p>\n

For more pedestrian safety tips, go to Pedestrian Safety<\/a>. You can also go to Orange County Public Schools Transportation Services<\/a> and the OCPS Back to School Resource Guide<\/a> as you prepare for the new school year.<\/p>\n

For more on Orange County’s efforts to improve transportation safety, visit the\u00a0Accelerated Transportation Safety Program<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With Orange County Public Schools gearing up for the 2024\/2025 school year, it is more important than ever that returning students remain safe as they walk or ride their bikes to and from school, and Orange County Public Works is ensuring this is the case by making safety improvements as part of the County\u2019s Vision […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":31,"featured_media":21365,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[712,711,134,456],"class_list":["post-21362","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-public-health-safety","tag-accelerated-transportation-safety-program","tag-back-to-school","tag-orange-county-public-schools","tag-pedestrian-safety"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nOrange County Taking Back to School Pedestrian Safety Seriously<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, 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