Orange, Seminole counties to crack down on busy crosswalks ahead of students returning to school

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Deputies with the Orange County and Seminole County sheriff’s offices are joining the cities of Orlando, Apopka, Kissimmee, St. Cloud, Casselberry and the town of Oakland for Operation Best Foot Forward, which focuses on drivers who fail to stop for pedestrians crossing the street at crosswalks.

The crackdown comes as more than 340,000 students across Central Florida are heading back to the classroom and roads are expected to get busier.

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The Best Food Forward crosswalk enforcement operation takes place Tuesday and Wednesday from 7:15 a.m. to noon at 15 heavily traveled crosswalks near schools.

Officers dressed in plain clothes will cross the street while uniformed officers monitor the crosswalk for drivers who do not stop for pedestrians or who take unsafe or illegal actions, the operation stated in a news release.

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Drivers who fail to comply during the enforcement will be issued warnings or citations, which is a $165 minimum fine and three points on a driver’s license.

Notable crosswalk locations include:

• Millenia Boulevard and Timarron Drive, directly in front of Millenia Gardens Elementary School.
• Pine Hills Road and El Trio Way, where a resident was hit and killed earlier this year. The crosswalk is within walking distance of Evans High School.
• 17th Street and Michigan Avenue in St. Cloud between St. Cloud High School and Middle School.
• Snow Hill Road and Jacobs Trail in Seminole County near Walker Elementary School and the Flagler Trailhead.

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See a full list of intersections here.

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