- April 23, 2024
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It has been a year and a half since Shelbie Miller was in a car accident that left her wedged in the front seat of her car on Matanzas Woods Parkway. It has been a year and three months since she regained her ability to walk. In all that time, she thought things might change.
Miller’s battle for the last year has been to enact a 20 mph school zone on Matanzas Woods Parkway, the road that students and buses use when accessing the parking lot for Matanzas High School.
Miller was hit on that road while turning left out of the school’s parking lot. An oncoming truck blocked her view of a trailing car. She didn’t realize until it was too late that she was going to be hit.
“I’m lucky to be here,” Miller said. “There were about 12 inches between my smashed-in door and my center counsel. I was smashed into that space.”
Now, she worries about her younger brother, who will soon start school at Matanzas. His larger frame likely wouldn’t survive the same accident. There have been other accidents since Miller’s, and because there are so many new drivers around high schools, she doesn’t see the problem going away. But a lower speed limit would increase safety, she said.
Just more than a year ago, Miller opened a conversation about placing a school zone around Matanzas High School. Currently, there is no law that requires the roads around high schools to have lower speed limits during school hours.
Her message gained attention from local officials, so at the time, she thought things were going to change. But they didn’t, and the subject eventually faded away.
So Miller drafted a bill that would require school zones be added to primary streets connected to school entrances and exits that student drivers use. When State Rep. Travis Hutson met with Flagler students last week, Miller presented her idea to him.
His question: Would she be able to miss a week of school to go to Tallahassee to present the bill to legislators?
But after thinking about it, Hutson realized his help wouldn't be immediate. He has already filed his maximum number of bills for this legislative session. Instead, Hutson contacted members of the Flagler County School Board.
“Our understanding was, at the time when (Miller) first brought this up, that this really needed to go through the county, the city or the Sheriff’s Office to make that change,” said School Board member Colleen Conklin. “But Hutson informed us that, in 2008, there was a change made to a state statute that said a school board, based on a review by district personnel, can make the recommendation on what the school zones should be.”
There is a bit of a debate about the interpretation of that statute, Conklin said. Some say the School Board can mandate school zones; others say the board can only recommend them.
Kristy Gavin, the school district's attorney, interpreted the statutory changes in an email to Conklin: "Upon the request of a school district representative or school principal, the District Traffic Operations Engineer or designee shall assist the school board and local officials in the determination of adequate traffic controls for school sites, areas, zones or crossings involving routes on the State Highway System," she wrote.
"However," she added, "the guidelines require (the school district) to work in cooperation wtih the local government."
There is also a question of control of Matanzas Woods Parkway. Staff from the city of Palm Coast has said the road is their responsibility, but Flagler County officials have said the same, said Mike Judd, the senior director of school operations for Flagler County Schools.
Judd said the matter will be discussed at a monthly traffic advisory group meeting scheduled for April 2, which is attended by representatives from the Sheriff’s Office, from each of the area municipalities, from the county, from the school district and from the Florida Department of Transportation. The group will discuss ways to increase safety around Matanzas High School, Gavin said in another email to Conklin.
In the meantime, staff for the school district is working on its recommendation for Matanzas Woods Parkway, Conklin said, adding that she feels the School Board has the authority to mandate a school zone. If staff recommended the school zone near the high school, it would come before the School Board for approval.
“We’re moving forward,” Conklin said. “But the goal is to find a way to work collaboratively.”
Flagler County officials are also working to increase safety in the area, said Frank Meeker, who sits on the Board of County Commissioners. He said county staff members are researching installing flashing, solar-powered school zone signs on Matanzas Woods Parkway.
As for Miller, she only hopes the issue won’t be dropped again. She remembers waking up in the hospital after her accident, terrified because she couldn’t feel her legs.
“There’s a big difference between being hit at 20 mph and 45 mph,” Miller said. “When you go through something like that, you just want to make sure that it never happens to anyone else.”
