PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — Michael Moses is an ordinary guy on an extraordinary mission.
He owns a medical cannabis dispensary and self-care center in St. Pete Beach, but his current focus isn't solely on his business. It's also on the roadway just a block away: Gulf Boulevard.
The busy, sometimes dangerous, five-lane road is where drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians meet, sometimes with deadly consequences.
Multiple pedestrians have been injured or killed over the years.
Drivers must use extreme caution, especially at night, as they pass through areas where pedestrians cross from bars and restaurants on the east of Gulf Boulevard to the beach on the other.
"It's virtually daily that we see a person jaywalking," Moses said. "We're not talking about a person where it's a clear shot, 'Let me kind of walk quickly,' [but] people making poor decisions and jaywalking in traffic."
The City of St. Pete Beach is currently studying how to make Gulf Boulevard safer for pedestrians through engineering.
"They're busy doing the big stuff," Moses said.
Moses and his friends, however, are busy with more minor stuff.
They founded a citizens group, known as S.A.F.E., to educate tourists and locals about the dangers of jaywalking and the proper way to cross Gulf Boulevard after the issue hit too close to home.
"We had a dear friend of ours who pulled out of Publix seven, eight weeks ago, and no wrongdoing, she's driving on the curb lane, and two people in their 60s were jaywalking, and they met her car, and they died," said Moses, his voice trembling with emotion.
Starting this year, Moses' group plans to hand out thousands of cards, each about the size of a business card, to beachside restaurants, hotels, and businesses. Then, those establishments can hand them out to their customers.
The card warns pedestrians to "stay alert," "use crosswalks," "push the button to alert drivers," and "make eye contact before crossing."
"When you pay your bill at a local restaurant or bar, they should hand this to you," Moses explained as he held up a sample card. "Not just buried in the welcome packet of the hotel, but the goal will be for the hotel staff member to say, 'Here, young lady.'"
But that's not all.
With permission from the Florida Department of Transportation (F.D.O.T.), Moses said the group will paint pelican footprints on sidewalks, leading visitors and locals from the doors of restaurants and hotels to the nearest crosswalks.
A St. Pete Beach resident, Carolyn James, said the simple idea should encourage pedestrians, especially young ones, to travel across Gulf Boulevard safely.
"We are going to start right by the Chick-fil-A, right by the major beach area," James said. "People just forget, and they just want to get to the closest distance without it being the safest distance."
The safety push even includes a mascot if all that wasn't enough.
"Pete the Safety Pelican," said Moses before pecking the human-sized pelican on the bill. "Love you! You had some fish today, man."
Moses admits the solutions may sound silly and simple, but he thinks they will help solve a serious problem.
"We're not going to stop jaywalking, but we hope to educate people to be more aware when they cross the street," he said.
According to Moses, the solutions will take six to 12 months to roll out.
He and the other volunteers said none of their solutions would be possible without the support of the City of St. Pete Beach and F.D.O.T.
