JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A Jacksonville city council member said he is working to address growing concerns about traffic safety on Zoo Parkway after two school bus crashes happened on the same road within one week.
Both bus crashes happened near railroad crossings and were less than two miles apart.
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The most recent crash, described as a “minor crash,” happened Wednesday. Eight children and one adult were taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. The students were from John E. Ford Elementary School and were returning from a zoo field trip.
Last week, students from San Pablo Elementary were heading to the zoo for a field trip when a semi-truck rear-ended their school bus. The school district said four kindergarten students were injured. However, the crash report shows five patients were taken to the hospital that day.
According to crash data from the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, 37 crashes happened near the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens over the past six months. One of those crashes was fatal.
Councilman Mike Gay said he was working with the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) to address some of the concerns and improve road conditions.
“Our immediate response is to check and make sure everybody’s okay and that everybody’s safe, and then waiting on the information to come into us on exactly what happened,” he said. “Then we go back to our DOT contacts to start pressing them for. What can we do? How can we put some signs up warning drivers more of railroad crossing ahead, buses, or vehicles that will be stopping. It’s not just school buses, you got your JTA, any kind of passenger vehicle is gonna stop right there.”
We also contacted FDOT about its improvement plan and received the following statement:
FDOT is aware of the recent crashes along Zoo Parkway near the Jacksonville Zoo. As part of our standard operating procedure, FDOT reviews all reported crashes on state roadways, as reviewing crash reports is critical to understanding crash causes and prevention.
The crashes remain under investigation by law enforcement and it would be inappropriate to speculate on contributing factors ahead of the investigations. Following the conclusion of those investigations, if opportunities are identified to enhance safety, FDOT will work to evaluate and implement appropriate improvements. This process includes careful analysis by professional engineers and other evaluations that may be warranted.
Hampton Ray with the Florida Department of Transportation
Florida state law requires school bus drivers to stop at railroad crossings and look and listen for oncoming trains before proceeding.