Safe pedestrian and driving behaviors were the focus of a campaign that kicked off the first day of classes at the University of Florida on Wednesday.
With tents filled with bike accessories and pamphlets, representatives with the Florida Department of Transportation and the UF Police Department, along with President Kent Fuchs, gave out information at the southwest corner of University Avenue and 13th Street to encourage good and safe pedestrian and driving behaviors.
Travis Humphries, FDOT District 2 director of operations, explained that some of their efforts in this partnership can be seen through the new speed tables on University Avenue and new traffic signal times around campus. Future projects include raised crosswalks and more lighting near those areas.
UFPD Chief Linda Stump-Kurnick said, whether you are a pedestrian or not, safety is a shared responsibility, and UFPD believes education is the highest importance for the department.
“Let’s be safe in all areas this year,” Fuchs added.
Officials will continue to stress the importance of safe behavior for the rest of the week throughout different locations on campus during peak traffic and pedestrian hours between 11 a.m., and 1 p.m.
NAVIGATING CAMPUS STREET CLOSURES
To make trips around campus easier and reduce the incidence of potential pedestrian and driver conflicts, the UF Office of Business Affairs has created a website with a map that features all road closures and construction on campus. By clicking on an area in red, one can read about the construction impact and the projected closure timelines.
This website was piloted at the start of summer and has been a partnered effort with many administrative units across campus including UFPD, Transportation and Parking Services, Planning, Design & Construction, Student Life and the Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences.
Brandi Renton, associate vice president of Business Affairs, said the goal is to have as much real-time information about campus impacts by including not only construction impact but facility and utility work as well.
To sign up for updates to the map and read through the list of closures visit https://campusclosures.ufl.edu/closure-home. As projects are completed, previous construction work will be archived.
Those with questions, concerns or feedback on the website can reach out to BusinessAffairs@ufl.edu.