Jacksonville leaders and families highlight roadway safety on World Day of Remembrance for Victims
“I keep a photo of Katie in my wallet; I think about her every long road trip, almost every trip I take,” Teresa said on Saturday.
Teresa is just one of many, and she too was hit by a car, suffered a broken leg, and was left with her own trauma.
According to data provided by pedestrian safety organization Bike Walk Jax, 471 people died in traffic accidents in Jacksonville between 2022 and 2024.
In fact, Jacksonville was among the 15 most dangerous cities nationwide for pedestrians in 2024, according to Smart Growth America’s biennial “Dangerous by Design” report.
“I bike every day, I commute to work, I drove from St. Augustine to come here, and I constantly run into people talking on their phones or not paying attention,” Rose added.
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On Saturday morning, in observance of the World Day of Remembrance for Highway Traffic Victims, relatives of those killed in traffic accidents in Duval County spoke with city leaders to keep their loved ones’ names alive.
However, relatives of those who lost their lives also demanded change from the city, which they said still has a lot of work to do regarding road and pedestrian safety.
“I’m working with the state of Florida to make sure Beaver Street potentially becomes a protected bikeway, Liberty Street is now a bikeway, we need to make it a protected bikeway,” said Jacksonville city councilman Jimmy Peluso at Saturday’s event. “This is what we need to do to make families feel comfortable. This is very important.”
Peluso also added that he has discussed with city officials the idea of adding more speed cameras to school districts in the city.
“I think it appealed to a lot of people,” Peluso said. “And if it’s a way to make sure we slow down the traffic to our schools, that’s a big deal.”
But Peluso said the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office is still working out the logistics of funding for possible speed camera expansions.
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