ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Construction is underway to improve pedestrian safety at State Road 50 and County Road 419, but some parents are worried about how safe it will be for their students to go through the construction zone to get to East River High School.

What You Need To Know

Construction is underway on pedestrian safety improvements at State Road 50 and County Road 419

But parents say the work zone is hazardous for students crossing State Road 50 to get to East River High School

FDOT says they’re monitoring the work zone to make sure it’s safe

Josh McConkey says a crossing guard would also be helpful at the two roads

Josh McConkey’s daughter attends East River High School in east Orange County.

In order to get to school, she has to cross State Road 50/Colonial Drive at County Road 419/Chuluota Road.

“As the Space Coast grows, as Orlando grows, as the economic activity is getting more and more between the two … (State Road) 50 is getting a lot more congested, crowded, and sometimes that traffic is moving a lot faster,” said McConkey.

The high rate of speed makes it challenging for students to cross, according to McConkey.

FDOT knows the area is a problem spot, that’s why there’s a construction project going on right now.

Spokesman Tim Freed says the goal of the project is to improve pedestrian safety and accessibility.

At State Road 50 and County Road 419, crews are building new crosswalks with pedestrian signals, along with ADA compliant curbs and enhanced lighting for visibility.

Nearby at State Road 50 and Corner School Drive, a new traffic signal and new crosswalks are being constructed.

While it’s supposed to help improve pedestrian conditions, right now, according to McConkey, the construction is having the opposite effect.

“As kids are coming down here, maybe they’re late to class, they’re going fast, and they’ve just got these drop-offs,” said McConkey, “where a bike rider actually went off the edge, and you have an actual track here from this morning.”

Spectrum News 13 knows of at least one student who hit a dip on his bike and busted his lip open.

So, Spectrum News 13 was able to get FDOT to inspect the work zone. Freed says they did not locate any major issues, but they’ll continue to carefully monitor the area to ensure conditions remain safe.

While the crosswalk is getting improvements, McConkey says what would also help students even more is a crossing guard.

“They should have a special hazard situation that they acknowledge and give crosswalk guards to this intersection, even for high schoolers,” suggested McConkey.

It took more than a month going back and forth between the state, county and sheriff’s office. It turns out it’s up to Orange County.

An assistant project manager for the county’s public works department told Spectrum News 13 it is not within their practice to evaluate or assign crossing guards for high schools. It’s a process adopted by the county’s student pedestrian safety committee, based on state guidelines that limit crossing guard evaluations to students up to the 6th grade level.

Still, the county conducted a SafeWalk assessment for East River High School to look at the pedestrian issues facing older students.

“As my kids start to drive in the next few years, you know, what’s going to happen with them and how safe is it going to be for them? But mostly, I’m concerned with just that they can walk across the street more safely,” said McConkey.

Construction on the project is expected to wrap up later this fall.

The work is a precursor to even more road work in the future, as FDOT has plans to widen State Road 50 from County Road 419 to Avalon Park Boulevard starting in 2027.

If you’ve got a traffic trouble spot, let us know about it here.