An elderly driver has been arrested in a late-night, hit-and-run near the University of Florida that left a pedestrian in her early 20s with an apparent head wound, according to a witness and police records. Betty Jean Alexander-Bacon, 73, of Lake Butler, was arrested early Thursday, about 20 minutes after …
Read More »Underage drinking in a college town: How strictly should police, prosecutors enforce laws?
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – On the last day of college classes after her freshman fall semester, Maggie Paxton began drinking with friends in the dorms at the University of Florida – students call it “pre-gaming” – before hitting Gainesville’s popular Midtown bars across a busy street from campus. She was 18. …
Read More »Florida Department of Transportation continues to increase pedestrian safety on University Avenue
Construction continues on University Avenue as two new traffic signals have been installed along the busy road as part of new safety plan. Concern for pedestrian and road safety on University Avenue has been a major concern ever since the tragic deaths of two University of Florida students in the …
Read More »City of Gainesville holds corridor walks as it declares a traffic ‘crisis’
Gainesville city commissioners adopted a Vision Zero policy in 2018, aimed at eliminating all traffic-related deaths and injuries by 2040.
Read More »Gainesville advisory board members didn’t like parts of the first proposal to redesign West University Avenue’s traffic flow
A proposed redesign of West University Avenue would turn a stretch of a main four-lane thoroughfare into a two-lane road with 15-foot wide sidewalks, an accessible and safe trail for foot traffic in Gainesville.
Read More »One year since a fatal hit-and-run on University Avenue, Gainesville remembers Maggie Paxton
Thursday marked one year since Maggie Paxton, an 18-year-old UF student, was killed in a hit-and-run accident on University Avenue.
Read More »Florida Not One More holds a pedestrian safety roundtable
Gainesville city officials, concerned citizens and University of Florida students all gathered around tables in one room to discuss the reality of pedestrian safety on and around UF’s campus and the wider Alachua County area.
Read More »Florida Department of Transportation Lowers Speed Limit On West University Avenue
The speed limit reduction is the latest in a series of traffic safety measures implemented on the approximately one-mile stretch of University Avenue in recent months.
Read More »State And Local Officials Plan For Projects To Decrease Pedestrian Accidents
The City of Gainesville, UF administration and the Florida Department of Transportation are working together on long-term projects to potentially decrease the amount of pedestrian accidents.
Read More »Traffic Changes Planned To Make University Avenue Safer For Pedestrians
After multiple pedestrian deaths in recent weeks along West University Avenue, the regional transportation planning group at a Monday meeting proposed installing additional traffic signals, well-lit crosswalks and temporary speed tables to slow down cars.
Read More »