A state plan is in the works to make New Kings Road more safe.
Five pedestrians have been hit and killed on the Northside roadway over the last couple of months News4Jax reported.
Ben Frazier, the head of the Northside Coalition advocacy group, described the four lanes of traffic Thursday as the “danger zone.” He was standing on the side of New Kings Road outside of a Kangaroo gas station just south of interstate 295.
“People are walking up and down this street any time of the day or night, and you can come here and you can see just how dangerous it is, particularly at night because of the poor lighting,” he said. “But there are a number of places that people are going to and fro.”
He said people from a trailer park walk across the street to the gas station without a crosswalk.
He’s been meeting with city officials and the Florida Department of Transportation to get something done.
FDOT planner Jim Knight said something is going to be done.
He said the recent string of pedestrian deaths has caused the department to agree to about $10 million in safety improvements for a five mile stretch of the road, including adding sidewalks and lighting.
He said the plan is to choose a contractor for the project in April 2018.
For now, the department is working to secure state and or federal funding for the project.
Reporter Lindsey Kilbride can be reached at lkilbride@wjct.org, 904-358-6359 or on Twitter at@lindskilbride.
