PORT ORANGE, Fla. — In Volusia County, Port Orange city officials are working to enhance safety across the city’s 10 schools. The traffic and safety improvements come after a fourth grader was struck and killed by a driver exiting Sugar Mill Elementary School on May 24.

What You Need To Know

  • The city of Port Orange is conducting a comprehensive safety and traffic review of the area’s 10 schools

  • Speed bumps, new pedestrian crossing signs and remarked crosswalks are some of the safety features coming to schools

  • The Port Orange Police Department is hiring two new Community Service Officers to hand-direct traffic

The accident prompted Port Orange city leaders to evaluate traffic and safety needs across the city’s schools.

“This was something that came and was born out of tragedy,” Port Orange Mayor Don Burnette said. “It was always a priority but absolutely, we have to hit the reset button and say, ‘What are we doing now and what can we do better?’”

Burnette said the city is conducting a comprehensive safety and traffic review of the area’s 10 schools. 

“Really, it was a large 10,000-foot view of the challenges in keeping all our kids safe and what it is we need to do,” he said.

At Sugar Mill, one of the first changes was adding speed bumps to the school’s parent pickup and drop-off loop.

“The school district has already put in speed humps,” Burnette said. “We know that speed was an element in this accident.”

A right turn lane into the school will also be added and the crosswalk will be remarked. Across the city, all schools had new pedestrian crossing signs installed. The Port Orange Police Department’s Traffic Unit is also conducting its biannual school zone compliance survey to assess the schools’ safety needs. 

“Do we need to change signage? Do we need to change the length of this turn lane? Do we need to have somebody out of their hand directing traffic? They’re all things we look at,” said Port Orange Police Department Sgt. Dean Gaver.

According to information from the city, only eight of Volusia County’s 67 schools have officers hand-directing traffic. While four of those schools are in Port Orange, city officials say they are hoping to increase that number to six by hiring two new Community Service Officers (CSOs) for the police department. 

“We’re there for the traffic flow,” CSO Mark Jones said. “We’re also there to watch and bring heightened awareness to drivers behind the wheel.”

One of the new officers will be stationed at Sugar Mill, where more than 3,200 people signed a petition calling for a crossing guard or officer to direct traffic at the school. The city said the other CSO will be stationed at Horizon Elementary School. Interviews for the positions start next week. 

Burnette said that protecting Port Orange’s students is a community effort. 

“It’s a team effort — not just on law enforcement, not just on the school district, not just on our crossing guards,” he said. “It’s everybody. Everybody cares, so we just have to do this together.”

Reagan Ryan is a 2023 — 2025 Report for America Corps Member, covering the environment and climate across Central Florida for Spectrum News 13. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on under-covered issues.