PINE HILLS, Fla. – We’ve seen it firsthand in Pine Hills for years — people young and old cutting through traffic on Silver Star Road without using the crosswalk.
“People are being killed,” local business owner Nicole Farquharson said. “The crosswalk is there for a reason. They just need to follow those directions.”
On Monday evening, a driver hit two people on Silver Star near Le Havre Boulevard and kept going, killing one of them. According to FHP, the victim was not in a marked crosswalk.
“At the end of the day it’s about safety,” said resident Carl Battle. “I’d rather walk a little further to be safe than try and take a shortcut.”
[EXCLUSIVE: Become a News 6 Insider (it’s FREE) | PINIT! Share your photos]
But others say following the rules isn’t always easy.
“Where is the next crosswalk?” asked Jae Fortune, a Pine Hills resident. “You literally can’t see it. Versus, I have to get right there.”
Including Monday’s deadly hit-and-run, Silver Star Road has seen eight pedestrian-involved crashes in 2025 between Mercy Drive and Good Homes Road. Going back to 2021, we found 51 pedestrian crashes there — and four of those were deadly.
Fortune believes medians and fencing could help.
“I’m a huge fan of barricades. I’m a huge fan of the reinforced medians,” Fortune said.
He points to similar barriers installed on Orange Blossom Trail, and Battle agrees, saying, “If you’re going to cross, you have to climb a fence — and it deters people from crossing.”
The Florida Department of Transportation says it’s saddened to hear about Monday’s fatal hit-and-run and that several safety projects are already in the works. Those include new crosswalks, lighting, and R-cut intersections, which create a diagonal path through the intersection and prevent U-turns.
At Le Havre Boulevard/Coast Line Drive, new traffic signals will be installed, and the existing bi-directional median will be reconstructed into a signalized Restricted Crossing U-Turn (RCUT) configuration. The RCUT design separates pedestrians and cyclists from vehicles by using a diagonal crosswalk to cross Silver Star Road. The existing median will be enlarged to include a refuge for pedestrians crossing Silver Star Road. Traditional crosswalks will be installed at the intersection for crossing Le Havre Boulevard and Coast Line Drive.
When driving through the intersection, there will be no access changes for traffic on Silver Star Road. Drivers on the side streets will need to turn right at the intersection and then make a U-turn at the next median opening on Silver Star Road to continue straight on Le Havre/Coast Line Drive. This configuration reduces potential collision points and allows for fewer signal phases, which helps improve both safety and traffic flow.
At Dardanelle Drive, the traffic signal will be reconstructed with adjusted signal timings, and a crosswalk will be added on the east side of the roadway for pedestrians crossing Silver Star Road. The project also includes upgrades at both intersections to roadway signage, overhead street lighting, and sidewalk and curb ramp modifications to meet current Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) standards.
(...)
There was also a safety project that just finished in November 2025 along Silver Star Road (S.R. 416) from S.R. 438 (Princeton Street) to U.S. 441 (Orange Blossom Trail). This project delivered operational and safety improvements along State Road 416 (Silver Star Road). Key upgrades included repaving the roadway, installing a raised traffic separator east of the S.R. 423 (John Young Parkway) intersection, constructing concrete traffic islands at Hansrob Road and the Wawa driveway to restrict left turns, upgrading traffic and pedestrian signals at Princeton Street, Eunice Avenue, and Mercy Drive, closing sidewalk gaps, improving bicycle connectivity, adding bus stops, and reconstructing curb ramps to meet ADA standards. Lighting, signage, and pavement markings were also upgraded throughout the corridor.
FDOT statement (excerpts)
“If they can get it right out there on OBT, we should be able to get it right here in Pine Hills,” Farquharson said.
When we asked about whether a median barrier is planned, FDOT gave us the following response:
“FDOT projects are carefully designed with multiple factors in mind to maximize safety benefits while delivering strong value for the community. Median fencing was evaluated, but the intersection improvement projects along this stretch of Silver Star Road will implement closely spaced, signalized crosswalks with short signal cycles to encourage pedestrians to utilize the crosswalks.”
FDOT says construction on a safety improvement project at Le Havre Boulevard — and several nearby intersections — is expected to be complete next fall.
[MORE: Trooper Steve On Patrol checks out pedestrian safety in Pine Hills]