Flagler College students help improve bicycle, pedestrian safety in St. Augustine

ST. AUGUSTINE, FL (09/19/2014)(readMedia)-- Flagler College communication students are assisting the North Florida Transportation Planning Organization and the City of St. Augustine implement the "Yield to Life" bicycle and pedestrian safety campaign from Sept. 8-21.

Students from Associate Professor Dr. Eric Hoffman's strategic communications strategies and campaigns class are tasked with raising awareness of bicycle, pedestrian and vehicle traffic laws in order to reduce the amount of traffic related crashes in the downtown area. According to crash reports studied by the North Florida TPO, the city of St. Augustine had a total of 165 crashes involving cyclists and pedestrians from 2009 to 2013.

The two-week mini campaign targets St. Augustine residents with the group of Dr. Hoffman's students focusing on Flagler College's campus. In order to demonstrate the importance of the campaign and improve safety on and around campus, the students will utilize informational materials, giveaways, surveys and a promotional PSA to connect the campaign's message to their fellow students.

"Our Flagler College PR interns are crucial to the success of the St. Augustine Yield to Life campaign," said Victoria Pennington, marketing consultant for the TPO. "They are providing campus outreach and social media services to reach a key demographic in our target audience."

Residents and students can visit www.SlowYourRollStAug.com for more information.

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Flagler College is a private, four-year comprehensive college located in St. Augustine, Fla. The college offers 29 majors, 34 minors and two pre-professional programs - the largest being business administration, communication, psychology and education. Small by intent, Flagler College has an enrollment of about 2,500 students, as well as a satellite campus at Tallahassee Community College in Tallahassee, Fla. U.S. News & World Report and The Princeton Review regularly feature Flagler as a college that offers quality education at a relatively low cost. A Flagler education is less than half the cost of similar private colleges, and competitive with many state universities. A relatively young institution (founded in 1968), Flagler College is also noted for its historic beauty. The centerpiece of the campus is the former Hotel Ponce de Leon, a grand resort built in 1888 by Henry M. Flagler, an industrialist, railroad pioneer and co-founder of Standard Oil. The Ponce has been designated as a National Historic Landmark. For more on Flagler College, visit www.flagler.edu.