‘Best Foot Forward’ pedestrian safety program comes to Marion County

File photo: Crossing guard Will Lopez directs traffic on the first day of school at Osceola Middle School and Eighth Street Elementary in Ocala, Fla. on Tuesday, August 10, 2021. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2021.

Marion County is going to put its “Best Foot Forward” with a new program to increase pedestrian and bicyclist safety through driver education.

The Best Foot Forward program will allow for the Marion County Sheriff’s Office to enforce the crosswalk at Southeast 28^th Street, the crosswalk and school bus stop at Southeast 52^nd Avenue, and the midblock at Santos Trail on Southeast 25^th Avenue where bicyclists often cross.

Bike/Walk Central Florida recently partnered with the Florida Department of Transportation to bring Best Foot Forward here to Marion County, said County Engineer Steven Cohoon.

“Best Foot Forward program is one of the largest grassroots coalitions in the country. It’s aimed at reducing serious pedestrian injuries and fatalities through education, engineering, enforcement and evaluation,” Cohoon said.

The Marion County Commission approved the program on July 2, and the program will not put any financial burden on the county to implement.

“The program takes a three “E” approach of engineering, enforcement and education of drivers regarding the driver yield law to encourage stopping at marked crosswalks and letting people cross the street,” according to the county.

The locations were chosen for enforcement based on the yield rate of drivers who fail to stop for pedestrians, which was well below 50% at all three sites, according to the county.

“Central Florida is consistently ranked one of the most dangerous regions for pedestrian fatalities in the nation,” Cohoon said. “That indicates that 49% of drivers yield to pedestrians within a half-mile of parks and only 46% of drivers yield to pedestrians at trail crossings.”

The program has been used for over 10 years in Orange, Seminole and Osceola counties and been successful, according to the county.