ST. CLOUD, Fla. – St. Cloud officials spoke with News 6 about what changes they’re making on the roads after back-to-back deadly crashes in the same area.
Police said a man in his 60s crossing 13th Street was hit and killed by a car Tuesday morning, 100 yards away from where another man on his bike was killed the following night.
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Andrew Sullivan, a spokesperson for the city, said both men were not in crosswalks when they were hit.
He looked into the statistics for the area and found nearly 30 crashes involving people walking or biking in the U.S. 192 corridor in the past three years. Not all of them are deadly, but even one is too many, he said.
“Of course, we want to see that number be zero,” Sullivan said.
Sullivan added that in most cases, pedestrians are jaywalking when they are involved in a crash.
News 6 watched it happen on the stretch between Old Canoe Creek and Brown Chapel Road on Thursday. People were seen cutting across six lanes of traffic and a median to get to the other side of the busy street.
The route between both intersections is roughly half a mile. There are bus stops on either side and a school nearby.
“We could have school children walking or crossing the street. We want it to be safe,” said Sullivan, adding it would take less than 5 minutes to walk to one way or the other to get to one of the intersections to cross 13th Street safely.
While speaking with Sullivan about the recent crashes, News 6 asked if any changes will be made.
Sullivan said the road is maintained by the state, so the city cannot make any changes to the signals or markings on its own. He said what they can do, though, is encourage people to use the crosswalks that are available.
The city plans to post electronic messages in the area that will remind drivers and pedestrians to watch out for each other.
“We are going to be posting some message boards in the area so that people driving, walking or cycling can be aware of some safety messaging to help them cross safely and be aware of pedestrians,” Sullivan said.
The city said they want to get those signs installed as soon as possible, aiming to do so by Thursday. They plan to keep them up as long as needed.
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