TO: Honorable Mayor & Members of the North Port Commission
FROM: Jonathan R. Lewis, ICMA-CM, City Manager
TITLE: Letter of Agreement and Contract between the City of North Port and the University of South Florida Board of Trustees to utilize law enforcement support to educate and enforce safe pedestrian, bicyclist, and driver behaviors in priority counties in Florida.
Recommended Action
Approve the Letter of Agreement and Contract between the City of North Port and the University of South Florida Board of Trustees to utilize law enforcement support to educate and enforce safe pedestrian, bicyclist, and driver behaviors in priority counties in Florida.
Background Information
The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), through a grant with the University of South Florida (University), will utilize law enforcement support to educate and enforce safe pedestrian, bicyclist, and driver behaviors in priority counties in Florida. The main objective of this effort is to reduce traffic crashes resulting in pedestrian and bicyclist fatalities and serious injuries through the use of selected traffic education and enforcement operations.
The City of North Port has been experiencing a significant increase in vehicle crashes and fatalities along S.R. 45 (U.S. 41 Tamiami Trail) in the past several months. Since January 2016, the police department has worked 207 vehicle crashes along S.R. 45. This accounts for approximately 30% of all vehicle crashes within the City of North Port, Sarasota County, Florida. Since January of this year, we've have sadly endured two bicyclist fatalities, one pedestrian fatality and one motor vehicle fatality.
The purpose and goal of this funding opportunity is to develop and implement effective community level high visibility enforcement operations in areas with the highest representation of traffic crashes involving pedestrians and bicyclists resulting in fatalities and serious injuries, along with increasing awareness of and complia...
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