This week, Tallahassee Police Department is ramping up pedestrian and bicycle safety measures. The move comes as part of a local and state initiative to prevent pedestrian-involved car crashes.
Since January, 168 bicyclists and pedestrians have been hit by vehicles in Tallahassee. Detective Jim Harris works with the Tallahassee Police Department. He hopes the efforts will sway pedestrians to follow safer practices near roadways.
“We’re seeing a lot of pedestrians crossing the mid-block disregarding traffic signals and darting out into the road," said Harris.
TPD will be calling on its High Visibility Enforcement (HVE) detail for the project. The special force has been around since 2019.
The detail, which is made up of about 20 plus officers, will patrol the city’s high-volume areas in search of traffic violators including those traveling on foot, by bike, or car. The extra enforcement efforts will continue through next year.
"We'll have a high number of pedestrians this month and the next month we'll only have a couple or things like that," TPD's Harris explained. "Right now, we're seeing an uptick and we're trying to get out there and figure out what's going on and why; and what we can do to prevent this."