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Most of them are on foot. They carry backpacks, push shopping carts, ride bikes or have children in tow. They stand in turn lanes waiting to cross, and dart between traffic to reach the opposite side.
Jaywalking on Fletcher Avenue between Nebraska Avenue and Bruce B. Downs Boulevard is so problematic that traffic experts have deemed the 1.5-mile stretch Hillsborough County's most dangerous bike-pedestrian corridor. Three jaywalkers have died since January 2006 and 97 others have been involved in accidents.
"Any time of day, you have people out there standing on the hash marks just dodging traffic," said Peter Brett, manager of the county's traffic engineering section. "They cross anywhere they can."
Now, engineers are pushing an ambitious $4 million proposal to curb jaywalking on Fletcher.
The work, about a year away from breaking ground, will include five mid-block pedestrian crossings, concrete and landscaped medians, and shrubbery along both sides of Fletcher to discourage jaywalkers from stepping into the street.
Signs and strobe lights will warn drivers about the crosswalks, and bike lanes will be added to both sides of Fletcher. The speed limit will drop from 45 to 35 mph.
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