JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Jacksonville Zoo and Botanical Gardens released a statement on Friday saying that it is working with officials to strengthen traffic safety measures in the surrounding area.
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The statement comes after the school bus accidents that happened within a week of each other.
We are deeply concerned by the recent school bus and car accidents along Zoo Parkway and are keeping the students, families, and all those affected in our thoughts. The safety and well-being of our community, especially children visiting the Zoo, is always our top priority.
These incidents underscore the urgent need to strengthen traffic safety measures in the area surrounding the Zoo. We are actively working with local partners to advance these efforts and we continue to strongly support implementing additional safeguards, including a traffic signal at the intersection of Zoo Parkway and Haydon Road, along with enhanced signage, traffic calming measures, and increased driver awareness throughout the corridor.
We remain committed to working alongside the City of Jacksonville, the Florida Department of Transportation, and local partners to help advance solutions that improve safety for everyone in our community.
Nikki Smith, spokesperson for the Jacksonville Zoo and Botanical Gardens
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.
The most recent crash, described as a “minor crash,” happened on 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.
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.”
Duval County Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Christopher Bernier visited News4JAX on Friday to urge drivers to be more attentive and said the district is launching public safety campaigns.