MELBOURNE, Fla. — Numerous traffic complaints have prompted the Melbourne Police Department to announce a crackdown on crosswalk violations for the next few weeks.

Camille Tate's normal 15-minute walking route to her college classes is along busy Wickham Road.

Tate is blind, and relies on her cane to get her safety where she needs to go.

But one day in 2019, as she walked to school near Parkway Drive, she found herself in a dangerous situation — she pressed the crosswalk button, waited for the walk sign, and started across the road.

"I felt a bump on my back, and I got hit by a car, it kept going and I fell," Tate said. "And it broke the cane I had."

She said it was the first time in 10 years living in Melbourne that she's been hit walking in that area.

She said she was shaken, but not injured, and another driver helped her safely back to the sidewalk.

"I was angry," Tate said. "They had to know they hit me because they hit me hard enough to knock me down."

Melbourne police say they have received numerous complaints about several marked crosswalks around the city.

In response to the problems, their pedestrian safety plan, "Street Smarts," started Monday.

As part of the plan, traffic unit members posted up in problem areas, using the opportunity to educate the public while using strict enforcement.

Officials said the goal is to reduce pedestrian-related crashes in the city.

"Be careful, keep your eyes on the road," Tate said, noting how grateful she is that police are being proactive to help curb crosswalk incidents.

"It makes me feel good that the Melbourne Police Department thinks it's important enough that I, as a pedestrian, should be able to walk safely in my own neighborhood," she said.

The initiative runs from Monday until Sept. 30.