Just as school begins, Orange County’s transportation leaders are finishing up work to make it safer for kids to walk to and from school.

The county is completing installation of 11 raised crosswalks near schools.

“There were certain locations where we’d get more complaints than other locations,” Orange County Project Manager and Traffic Engineer Lauren Torres said near Sadler Elementary School. “In this particular location we got complaints that cars were not slowing down, so we decided to put up the raised crosswalk here.”

Some of those complaints came from crossing guards, who made the recommendations to the county.

A recent AAA survey of Floridians found 37% of respondents admit to speeding in active school zones at least once in the past three months.

According to the Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration, raised crosswalks can reduce pedestrian crashes by 45%.

Torres says there are two big reasons for raised crosswalks.

“They raise the pedestrian up to sidewalk level, making them more conspicuous to drivers,” she said.

Plus, Torres says they slow vehicles down.

James Cusson cannot wait until the raised crosswalk is installed near Moss Park Elementary.

“There have been times I walked in the crosswalks and had to jump back and almost gotten hit," said Cusson.

Orange County also implemented a new policy that requires whenever a new school is built, if there is no traffic signal, that a school zone be immediately installed.