The University of North Florida wants to make its campus safer for students who are walking or riding bicycles and skateboards to get around.
UNF Police Chief Francis Mackesy said being a commuter school means there are lots of cars both on and off campus.
UNF is applying for a grant from the Florida Department of Transportation that will provide extra training to the university police officers and allow them to devote more time and energy to preventing accidents.
“Anything we can do to make the kids safer here. It’s a very safe campus now, but people get comfortable. I mean we had one yesterday: a kid was looking down, walking through the crosswalk and a car was crossing and he walked right into the side of the car. So we’re just trying to get them to be a little more aware of their surroundings,” said Mackesy.
Mackesy said the student was a little shaken-up but otherwise unhurt. Still, he said, it’s just a matter of time before there’s a more serious accident.
By making UNF students, staff and faculty more safety-conscious while they’re on campus, it will help make them safer off campus as well, Mackesy said.
Contact reporter Cyd Hoskinson at choskinson@wjct.org, 904-358-6351 and on Twitter @cydwjctnews.
Photo used under Creative Commons license.
