JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Changes could be coming to a busy, and at times, dangerous roadway on the First Coast.
According to records requested by First Coast News from the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office, there have been 69 calls for service for crashes along Losco Road in Mandarin since the start of 2021.
“As a Mandarin resident, I frequent those routes often, so I do appreciate that people do fly down that road pretty quickly," Jacksonville City Council Member Michael Boylan, District 6, said.
Boylan said after the fourth crash on Hood Road South along Losco Road this year, he spoke with the city's traffic engineering department about the road. That was a few weeks ago.
"I think this is not an unusual situation in the management area as a whole. We see a fair amount of traffic and concerns with respect to speeding on streets like Losco, on Hood ... I can click them all off as easily as anyone else can. And, you know, that really is an ongoing challenge for our community," he said.
oylan spoke with the city's chief of traffic engineering.
“He told me they had been looking at Losco Road for some time and doing some analysis of both not only their reports, but also now what JSO has on file in terms of accidents along there. And also, working with now with DCPS and understanding the bus routes for that neighborhood," Boylan said.
According to Boylan, Duval County Public Schools school board member Lori Hershey reached out to Boylan regarding the accident Friday and the road in general.
Boylan said the city's chief of traffic engineering told him they've been reviewing Losco Road "in the past year to identify pedestrian crossing locations."
According to the calls for service from JSO, the most calls for service for crashes along Losco so far this year has been at the intersection of Losco Road and Old St. Augustine Road. There have been 42 calls for service there as of Sept. 20.
"It's like a raceway out there," neighbor Jennifer Flanagan said.
Flanagan put in a request with the city for a stoplight at the intersection the boy was hit, Losco Road and Losco Junction Drive, in May. According to a spokesperson for the city, her request is under review. They're looking at options for the roadway as a whole, like pedestrian crossings and stoplights, the spokesperson said.
"Losco is on the list of one of those where we pay careful attention," Boylan said.
He said it usually takes at least six months to do traffic and pedestrian studies before a decision is made, but that could vary.
"I wish it were sooner or shorter," he said. "I expect in a short order that Chris LeDew [Chief of Traffic Engineering] will come back with some recommendations and some action items along Losco," Boylan said.
Neighbors who responded Friday said the boy was breathing and talking but said it seemed like his head took most of the hit from the car. A spokesperson for JSO said the crash is under investigation.