title
Pedestrian Safety - Traffic Separator Ordinance (B)
Ordinance No. 200464
An Ordinance of the City of Gainesville, Florida, creating a new Article VII titled "Pedestrians Prohibited in Traffic Separators" within Chapter 26 titled "Traffic and Motor Vehicles" of the City Code of Ordinances; amending Sec. 2-339 to create a civil citation penalty; providing a severability clause, providing a repealing clause and providing an effective date.
explanation
At its meeting on November 19, 2020, the City Commission discussed concerns with pedestrian fatalities and injuries in the rights-of-way within the City and directed the City Manager to work on a narrowly-tailored pedestrian safety ordinance. City staff reviewed pedestrian fatalities and injuries in the rights-of-way, as well as the Florida Department of Transportation guidance on median design for safe pedestrian refuge and median design for narrow traffic separators. Based on that review, this ordinance recognizes that medians that are 6 feet in width or less are designed as traffic separators and are not designed for safe pedestrian refuge and therefore, pedestrians are prohibited from being within those traffic separators for any purpose. The back-up to this agenda item also includes a map, for ease of visual reference, depicting where most of these traffic separators are located within the City.
This ordinance requires two hearings and will become effective immediately upon adoption.
recommendation
The City Commission consider the proposed ordinance.