Lake and Polk Counties Select Crosswalks for 2025 Driver Yield Rate Study

As part of FDOT’s Target Zero initiative, Polk and Lake Counties have each recently selected eight initial crosswalks for the Best Foot Forward program to monitor in their respective counties throughout 2025. This sample of crosswalk locations were identified by local officials in engineering, enforcement, education, and public safety across multiple municipalities within each county.

The Target Zero initiative aims to eliminate all traffic fatalities and serious injuries on Florida’s roads by 2050. While bike/ped crashes make up just one portion of the overall crash statistics, the severity of the outcome for bicyclists and pedestrians is amplified by the lack of protection these vulnerable road users have compared to drivers in the safety of their vehicles. FDOT sponsored the expansion of the Best Foot Forward program in Polk & Lake Counties in response to the success of crosswalk data tracking in Orange, Osceola, Seminole, Volusia, Marion, and Brevard Counties. Flagler County is also participating for the first time this year, sponsored by the Volusia Flagler TPO.

Each year, partnering counties select a sample of crosswalks for Best Foot Forward to evaluate the effectiveness of existing infrastructure. This data will also allow Best Foot Forward to track any change in the driver yield rate in response to interventions, such as new engineering countermeasures, crosswalk enforcement, and community education. Here are the new locations being evaluated in 2025:

Lake County

Polk County

Initial baseline data collection at these locations will kick off in April, with follow up data collections in summer at key locations that have been targeted for interventions. Lake and Polk County Sheriff’s Offices are also now eligible to participate in Operation Best Foot Forward, a regional high-visibility crosswalk enforcement campaign, which will have its operation windows in April and July.