ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The St. Petersburg transportation department has enhanced the crosswalk signals behind St. Pete High School after a student was struck by a car and critically injured while walking across busy Ninth Avenue North in late May.

“We heard a lot of concerns from the community, the neighborhoods, the school district and others, just asking what we could do to enhance visibility as a short-term measure,” said Transportation Manager Chery Stacks. “Kind of get it ready to go before school starts.”

Stacks said crews installed double the amount of flashing lights, enhanced the lights color and moved all the signage up higher on the poles to make them more visible for drivers.

“What’s different is that the old signs were yellow,” she said. “These are more of a yellow-green, a fluorescent color, which adds to the visibility as well. We typically use those in school zones because I think that helps.”

The last upgrades which will soon be added will be stripes on the poles and visors for the flashing lights, according to Stacks.

“We typically use visors at traffic signals to aid in visibility of the lights,” she said. “We’ve not traditionally done these and the flashing beacons because they’re LED, but we think that those would also enhance the visibility.”

The improvements are part of the city’s response to the community’s safety concerns for students crossing Ninth Avenue North at 25th Street North and 26th Street North. A 15-year-old student who activated the lights was struck by a car while walking in the marked crosswalk and was critically injured on May 22, according to police. The driver remained at the scene and has since been ticketed for the accident.

North Kenwood resident Kate Benoot said she walks her dogs across the street nearly every day and calls it “very unsafe to cross.” Benoot welcomes the new upgrades.

“Just a couple of weeks ago, I was walking down here, I think, before they changed it, and the one (crosswalk signal) over there wasn’t working,” she said. “So it’s a nice gesture. I mean, it’s better than not doing anything, but we’ll see if it works.” 

Stacks said that when pedestrians activate the crosswalk lights, it’s important they wait for all traffic to stop before walking onto the road.

Transportation and Parking Management Director Evan Mory said the upgrades were Stacks’ idea, and it’s the first time the full combination of enhancements has ever been used together in one place in St. Petersburg. Stacks said the city is also in the process of improving the area surrounding the crosswalk signals.

“We trimmed the trees pretty significantly to enhance the visibility of the sign when you’re coming down the street,” she said. “We’re also working on some sidewalk and ramp improvements, too.”

Just in time for back to school which begins on Aug. 11.