JACKSONVILLE BEACH, Fla. — Some Jacksonville Beach residents said traffic in and around a private school in their neighborhood has reached dangerous levels.
One neighbor said his child was almost hit by a car while riding his bike right in front of The Discovery School on South 15th Street.
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“It kind of changed my entire perspective about Discovery School and about the safety issues that we face,” Jacksonville Beach resident Donnie Brzuska said.
Brzuska lives right next to the school, and he said there is only one way in and out of his neighborhood. He noted specifically that during dismissal, traffic backs up in both directions.
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“It creates a very dangerous choke point where cars have to come into oncoming traffic, and there are cars pulling in and out of the shoulder,” Brzuska said. “There is nobody there meaningfully directing traffic, especially at the intersections where pedestrians are supposed to cross.”
He claims the school was supposed to provide crossing guards and stagger drop-off and pick-up times as part of a city requirement, but never did.
Action News Jax got a copy of the letter the head of the school sent to Brzuska.
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In the letter, the Discovery School said it has consistently maintained staggered times for student drop-off and pick-up.
It also said they do not have an intersection at which there is a crosswalk, and they received information from the Jacksonville Beach Police Department that, therefore, a crossing guard is not mandatory.
The school pays for an off-duty police officer to be present on campus during the school day, including during pick-up times. And they said their drop-off and pick-up operations were evaluated by the Jacksonville Beach Police Department, and they were told the operations were efficient and appropriate.
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But Brzuska said that is not enough to address his concerns.
“From my experience, whatever they are doing is not working,” Brzuska said.
The JBPD said it is aware of the citizen complaints regarding traffic congestion. It said that while officers have talked with the school and provided a suggested traffic plan for drop-off and pick-up times, the school alone is responsible for those operations.
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