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14 Cited For Jaywalking At Sickles High

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By ANGELA DELGADO, The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 9, 2008

CITRUS PARK - A few Sickles High School students received an expensive lesson last week, courtesy of the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office.

On Jan. 30, deputies were at the school, 7950 Gunn Highway, enforcing seat belt laws when they observed students jaywalking across Gunn Highway.

A popular destination for students on the way to and from school is a Walgreens drugstore across Gunn Highway from the school. Before July, when construction began on Gunn, students could use a crosswalk directly in front of the school, but today that crosswalk is the site of roadwork and heavy machinery.

Students are continuing to cross there. They should be using crosswalks at the north and south ends of the school. The closest crosswalk is a short distance south of the construction site. If students used that crosswalk, they would walk east to cross the road, then go north and take a crosswalk on Ehrlich Road to get to the Walgreens.

Although the deputies were at the school to enforce seat belt laws, they address any other matter they see, said Cpl. Darrin Barlow.

Officers handed out 14, $48.50 tickets that day. They also gave out seat belt citations, tickets for moving violations and red light citations, but not all of those were for students, Barlow said.

Although the school had nothing to do with the citations, Principal Jake Russell fielded phone calls that morning from unhappy parents.

"I explained to them that we're worried about their safety," Russell said. "Before construction started, we did have a kid get hit by a car and hurt his foot. It's a dangerous intersection."
Deputies "are doing their job and they don't want anyone to get hurt," he said. "Personally I feel bad for the kid who gets the ticket, but if the message gets out there and kids are safe, it makes us feel better."

Russell said the school has been addressing the jaywalking and crosswalk issue since school began, and some students choose to ignore the warnings.

"I whistle and I yell at them, but they're not going to listen to me," said Dave Rittenour, teacher, coach and "traffic guy" at Sickles. "I come out here telling them every day. We make announcements. They just look at me and go on."

"Maybe they'll listen to the $48.50 they have to pay," he said.

After students received the tickets, senior class President Ciprian Mejia told students to cross on the designated crosswalks or they will be "48 light."

Mejia said he thinks the $48.50 fine is steep and doesn't see it having much influence on the majority of the student body, but he does see the bigger picture.

"I hope students understand that safety is the issue," he said. "It's not like they want to fine you."

Some students such as freshman Tori Logrien, 14, don't understand.

"I think it's stupid," she said after school ended Monday. "It's really dumb that people get in trouble for that and have to pay."

Still, Logrien didn't jaywalk Monday.

Neither did sophomore Sarah Carroll, 15.

"I understand they do that because a lot of kids are walking where you're not supposed to," she said. "If you're going to do something bad, you're gonna have to pay for it, literally."

Carroll's logic for not jaywalking?

"I'd rather not get hit by a car," she said. "Why not wait five more seconds to go and not get fined. It's just not worth it."

The $10.5 million expansion project runs along Gunn from Hixon Road, south of Sickles, to Keystone Crossing Boulevard, north of South Mobley Road. The one-mile segment will be widened to four lanes and will have sidewalks, bicycle lanes and grass medians.

Once work is complete, a retention pond and fence will run across the front of Sickles, preventing anyone from passing through. Students will be forced to use the crosswalks north and south of the school.

Barlow said the sheriff's office is at Sickles and other area high schools monthly and plans on being there again in March.

"Now that we've been out there, I think the problem has subsided," Barlow said.

Monday, most students crossed where they were supposed to. One of those students was Jack Holland, 15.

When asked how he felt about the tickets, the sophomore replied "that's a little ridiculous, especially since it was 50 bucks."

Still, despite his protest of the ticket and the fact that he has jaywalked, Holland chose to not jaywalk Monday. When asked why, he simply said, "Because they've been giving out fines."

Reporter Angela Delgado can be reached at (813) 865-1501 or adelgado@tampatrib.com.

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