Officers and representatives from UF and the Florida Department of Transportation hosted a pop-up event Monday on a sidewalk bordering the university’s campus, with colorful signage and free supplies for bicyclists.
The pop-up has appeared annually at the beginning of the Fall semester for the past five years. UFPD Chief Bart Knowles said the event is intended to raise awareness about student and pedestrian deaths on campus roads.
“Sadly, we lost some of our students as a result of pedestrian-related fatalities, and so that was really the driving force,” he said. “And we started looking at this and saying we've got to do something.”
In March 2025, UF student Nyla Holland was hit and killed by a car while riding her moped, and in February, a student was hospitalized after being struck by a box truck.
Accidents, both fatal and nonfatal, have raised concerns over road safety for students and Gainesville residents, which has pushed UF and FDOT to begin instituting changes to address safety issues.
The Newell Gateway, located at the intersection of University Avenue and Newell Drive, served as the event’s primary site.
The Gateway, which sits on the edge of Newell Drive, experiences major foot traffic from students and opens to the sidewalk along University Avenue. The location is prime for students walking up Newell Drive, and those walking and riding along University Avenue.
As clusters of students walked past the table on their way to and from classes, around a dozen officers from UFPD, the Gainesville Police Department and the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office stood ready to answer questions about pedestrian and driver safety.
Representatives from UF Emergency Services and FDOT were also present to talk about other safety tips around Gainesville, providing brochures with natural disaster, active shooter and pedestrian safety protocols.
UF spokesperson Cynthia Roldán said the event was intended to remind both pedestrians and those behind the wheel that back-to-school season is the time to slow down and use crosswalks.
“[I] think over the Summer, everybody gets a little bit distracted and used to having less both pedestrian and vehicle traffic,” Roldán said.
UFPD also handed out bicycle helmets and safety lights to students at the event and registered bikes and scooters for free.
Its public information officer, Kailey Tedjeske, said the registration is not limited to just the event, but all year. This extends to other spots on campus where UFPD is tabling, or at the Public Safety building along Museum Road, she said.
She said students are welcome to stop any time, even if it’s just to say hi.
Pierson Hewitt, an 18-year-old UF marine biology freshman, was one of dozens of students who registered their electric scooters with UFPD at the event. His brother, a UF senior, has had two bikes stolen, he said, and Hewitt is now concerned about having a reinforced lock to prevent theft.
“Almost everywhere I see, they have reinforced bike locks,” Hewitt said. “I think doing this makes me feel a little bit better about my scooter.”
FDOT’s collaboration with UF is part of FDOT’s Target Zero initiative, said spokesperson Jacob Pickering, under which FDOT aims for zero serious injuries and fatalities on transportation systems in Florida.
Pickering also said safety education is essential for students. A new pedestrian crosswalk will be added along University Avenue, any time from 2027 to 2029, he said.
“This is an important opportunity for us to get out in front of the students and remind everybody how to use the crosswalks because more are going to be coming,” he said.
Contact Sofia Garcia at sofiagarcia@alligator.org. Follow her on X at @sconsuelogarcia.
Sofia Garcia is a first-year journalism and political science double major at UF and serving as the student government reporter for Fall 2026. This is her first semester at The Alligator. In her free time, she enjoys listening to music, playing video games, or connecting with her friends and family back home in Miami.
