Staying aware of your surroundings is the responsibility of both drivers and pedestrians. Avoid distractions like cell phones and remove headphones or ear buds so you can hear what’s going on around you.

Drivers must follow posted speed limits and yield to pedestrians — even at green lights. Likewise, pedestrians should follow traffic rules, use crosswalks and look both ways before crossing streets, even when they have the right of way.

Keeping �鶹ӳ����ý’s roads safe is a collective effort, which is why new pedestrian safety enhancements have been added on and off the university’s main campus.

Pedestrian Safety Improvements

In the past few years, �鶹ӳ����ý has made improvements around its main campus by restriping crosswalks for better visibility and adding rumble strips before crosswalks that aren’t at a traffic light. Rumble strips are designed to provide an audible and vibration warning to alert drivers to slow down.

Flashing lights have been installed at some of the busier crosswalks around campus, along with signage reminding drivers that state law requires them to yield to pedestrians in a crosswalk.

Off campus, Orange County made significant pedestrian safety upgrades along Alafaya Trail and University Boulevard, including new mid-block crosswalk signals at Solon Drive on Alafaya Trail and Turbine Drive on University Boulevard. The crossings make it more convenient for pedestrians to get to �鶹ӳ����ý, nearby restaurants and retail. They feature textured, colored pavement, pedestrian-activated stop lights and road markings that remind drivers to watch for pedestrians.

New fencing and landscaping will help direct pedestrians to the crosswalks, and sidewalks have been widened to eight or 10 feet. Additional signage, lighting and landscaping were also added.

Additionally, major intersections in the area were also updated with high-visibility crosswalks and redesigned with smaller turning radii that force vehicles to slow down.

�鶹ӳ����ýPD’s Commitment to Pedestrian Safety

The �鶹ӳ����ý Police Department (�鶹ӳ����ýPD) regularly conducts pedestrian safety details, where plain-clothed employees use crosswalks throughout campus while officers assess drivers’ responses.

While the main goal of these details is education, drivers who fail to yield may be stopped and issued a verbal warning or a citation at the officer’s discretion. Pedestrians crossing illegally may also be stopped.

Ahead of these details, �鶹ӳ����ýPD shares information about these efforts on social media and message boards around campus.

The project, in partnership with Orange County, will create a 10-foot-wide multi-modal pathway along Alafaya Trail with new pedestrian lighting. A four-foot-tall guardrail is also included in the plans to encourage pedestrians to cross at the crosswalks, and a new pedestrian-activated traffic signal will be added at Solon Drive.

Beginning Monday, Oct. 16, tree removal will begin in order to make room for the multi-modal pathway. Construction will start at Research Parkway and continue north toward Oviedo. Those who commute to the main campus should be aware that the work could impact traffic.

Orange County will be leading the pedestrian safety project, which is designed to protect students from busy car traffic as they travel to and from campus.

Additional information about the project can be found .

It’s the responsibility of both drivers and pedestrians to pay attention to their surroundings, which includes avoiding distractions, like cell phones, and removing headphones or ear buds so they can hear what’s going on around them.

Drivers should always follow posted speed limits and yield to pedestrians even when there’s a green light. It’s also pedestrians’ responsibility to follow traffic signals and rules and to always use a crosswalk and look both ways before crossing the street, even when they have the right of way.

We all share �鶹ӳ����ý’s roads and it’s up to all of us to keep them safe, which is why �鶹ӳ����ý recently implemented new safety enhancements for pedestrians.

Pedestrian Safety Improvements

Improvements include re-striping crosswalks around campus to increase visibility and adding rumble strips before crosswalks that are not at a traffic light. Rumble strips are meant to provide both an audible and vibration warning so drivers know they are approaching a crosswalk and should decrease their speed.

Previously, �鶹ӳ����ý added flashing lights at some of the busier crosswalks around campus and signage in the middle of the road to remind drivers that it’s state law to yield to pedestrians in a crosswalk.

In June, Orange County also approved a construction project for pedestrian safety updates in the area of Alafaya Trail, McCulloch Road and University Boulevard. The project is expected to be completed at the end of 2024.

�鶹ӳ����ýPD’s ‘Drive Smart’ Traffic Safety Detail

In preparation for Pedestrian Safety Month in October — established by the U.S. Department of Transportation as a reminder for drivers and pedestrians that staying safe is a shared responsibility — the �鶹ӳ����ý Police Department (�鶹ӳ����ýPD) will host a pedestrian safety detail on Tuesday, Sept. 26.

“The goal [of the detail] is to stop dangerous driving behaviors around campus,” says Commander James Mangan, who oversees �鶹ӳ����ýPD’s main campus patrol division. “Specifically, we’re looking for drivers who are speeding and not yielding to people in crosswalks.”

The department will achieve this by having plain-clothed employees use crosswalks throughout campus, while officers assess drivers’ responses.

Mangan notes that while the main purpose of this detail is educational, vehicles that do not yield will be stopped and officers will have discretion as to whether they give a verbal warning or a citation. Leading up to the detail, �鶹ӳ����ýPD will be sharing information about these efforts on their social media accounts and on message boards around campus.

This isn’t the first time �鶹ӳ����ýPD has hosted a pedestrian safety detail. In 2022, two details were conducted, one of which focused on motorists yielding to pedestrians and another with an additional focus on ensuring pedestrians were using crosswalks correctly.