Mr. Keith Turney -- MACDILL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla.--Recently, there have been several instances where a pedestrian has almost been hit while illegally crossing the road to their place of duty or their vehicle. In an effort to ensure everyone is aware of the law, and current installation policy, please refer to MacDill AFB Instruction 31-116 and Florida Statue 316.130 (12), which both state, “No pedestrian shall except in a marked crosswalk, cross a roadway at any other place than by a route at right angles to the curb or by the shortest route to the opposite curb.”
Additionally, F.S. 316.130(14) states; “No pedestrian shall cross a roadway intersection diagonally unless authorized by official traffic control devices, and, when authorized to cross diagonally, pedestrians shall cross only in accordance with the official traffic control devices pertaining to such crossing movements.”
The 6th Civil Engineering Squadron, in coordination with the MacDill Traffic Safety Working Board, conducted a traffic survey for the old crosswalk located on N. Boundary Blvd. near Zemke Ave. for traffic congestion issues. The board decided to remove the crosswalk signal light and paint over the lines, terminating the crosswalk for good.
Currently, the policy is for pedestrians departing the U.S. Central Command compound to walk south down a sidewalk to the official crosswalk at the intersection of Zemke Ave. and S. Boundary Blvd. to gain access to the vehicle parking lot. As of now, pedestrians are “Jaywalking” across heavy traffic at the old crosswalk, causing a traffic hazard.
Recently the 6th CES also installed a new “No U-Turn” sign on N. Boundary Blvd. across from the Air Park due to vehicle operators making illegal U-Turns over the double solid yellow painted lines. These illegal U-Turns often occurred during high traffic times and endangered other drivers travelling northbound, causing them to have to slow down or stop to avoid a collision.
Police officers assigned to the 6th Security Forces Squadron will begin an enhanced enforcement effort of these areas in the coming weeks.