JUPITER, Fla. — To get to Jupiter Beach, David Mayers and his neighbors on Ocean Way have to cross A1A.
Cars and trucks in the area don’t always stop when walkers enter the crosswalks, even though pedestrians have the right-of-way.
“You put a foot out in the street to show them that you want to walk, and they speed up and go faster,” said Mayers, who owns a condo near the beach by the Jupiter Reef Club.
“People don’t even realize they’re supposed to stop at a crosswalk,” added Terry Zuckerman, who walks her dog every day and makes the crossing.
“We’ve been trying to get the county or the town to do something to slow the traffic down,” said Mayers, a retiree from Pennsylvania. “At least 50% of the time people don’t stop.”
Contact 5 put Mayers’ complaint to the test.
Investigative reporter Dave Bohman wore a bright colored shirt so drivers couldn’t miss him when he crossed at Ocean Way 10 times.
Five vehicles stopped, five did not, proving Mayers’ observation that 50% of drivers don’t stop.
About 200 yards north on A1A, another crossing has a sign warning drivers that state law mandates they stop.
When Contact 5 tested those crosswalks, seven of 10 drivers stopped.
“I really think they need a speed bump or a stop sign,” Mayers said. “Something to really slow them down.”
He said the road should have speed humps, like A1A does a mile north by the restaurants along the Jupiter Inlet.
However, Palm Beach County Traffic Director Motasem Al-Turk wrote in an email, that the stretch of A1A near Ocean Way is “intended to provide for moderate to higher speeds. As such, the county’s policies do not allow the installation of speed humps.”
So Mayers turned to Contact 5 and change may be coming soon to the area.
Palm Beach County will put up 24 poles along A1A in Jupiter and Juno Beach including one at the Ocean Way crossing.
Walkers push a button and trigger a flashing yellow light, warning drivers to stop.
The county engineering and public works department, stated that the project “is expected to start within the next month and will be completed in 120 days if no unexpected delays are encountered, such as supply chain issues.”
WATCH BELOW: Contact 5's Dave Bohman shows how vehicles fail to stop at crosswalks in Jupiter