Brandon High School is in need of some safety upgrades to help students walking to and from school, state engineers now say in a new road safety audit.
CRASHES
There was a deadly crash involving a student occurred on December 4, 2006. The student was crossing north to south and a vehicle was traveling eastbound east of the intersection of Victoria Street and Meade Avenue, according to the road safety audit.
It's a sound Iris Class, who lives across the street, still can't forget.
"We were watching TV and we heard this big bang," Class said.
Engineers also say there was an incapacitating crash occurred north of Clay Avenue on Parsons Avenue. This crash happened during early morning hours with dark conditions, according to the study.
Three of the 11 crashes occurred within the study area involved vehicles turning right and pedestrians or bicyclist either in the crosswalks or crossing a driveway.
Installing R-10-15 signs (signs that are marked "turning cars" and "yield to pedestrians") will alert turning drivers of possible pedestrian conflicts in the crosswalks, transportation leaders say.
PROBLEMS FOUND: ROAD SAFETY AUDIT
MISSING SIDEWALKS/LIGHTING
Sidewalk missing in large sections around the Brandon High School. Also, transportation leaders found several locations with large gaps of sidewalk and lighting, or sidewalk and lighting are not there.
CROSSWALKS NEEDED
Many students from Brandon High School use Telfair Road to walk home, and at the intersection of Meade Avenue and Telfair Road there are no existing crosswalks.
Engineers say new crosswalks should be installed on the east and north legs of this intersection to improve safety for students walking home.
There are also no crosswalks along some of most highly-used roadway by students walking to school, which include Amana Avenue and Telfair Road, according to the road safety audit.
SPEEDING ISSUES:
Along Kings Avenue, several vehicles were speeding through the school zone, the study found. In some places, engineers found people were speeding as fast as 47 miles per hour.
PICK UP AND DROP OFF PROBLEMS
At Kings Avenue and Pearl Circle, several conflicts observed between pedestrians in the roadway, parents dropping off kids, and buses entering and leaving Brandon High School.
FDOT will present this road safety audit and recommendations to Hillsborough County's School Transportation Work Group later this week.
