ROCKLEDGE, Fla. — Meghan Giordano's morning commute to work takes her on Fiske Boulevard — a road she's grown to dread.

  • Rockledge woman concerned about dangers along Fiske Boulevard
  • She says there aren't clearly marked school zones on busy road
  • Woman worried about crossing guards stepping out into traffic
  • FULL COVERAGE: Real-time traffic map

"In the past five years, in the morning, traffic along Fiske has gotten about 25 to 50 percent busier," said Giordano, who has lived in Rockledge for more than a decade.

The big issue for Giordano along Fiske Boulevard is that there are several schools she has to pass along the way.

It's not the schools themselves that are the problem, but rather what she says is the lack of clearly marked school zones, which causes chaos in the morning and afternoon hours.

"You don't know when to slow down for the school zones, you don't know when to speed up," Giordano said. "You have crossing guards cutting you off, just walking into the middle of traffic."

Golfview Elementary Magnet School is along Fiske. The speed limit there is 40 mph, yet there are no school zone signs listed along the stretch of roadway near the school. Why?

Fiske Boulevard is a state road, and because of that, it lies in the Florida Department of Transportation's jurisdiction. FDOT told me that the reasoning behind not posting school zones on Fiske is because the school crossings are at signalized intersections with traffic lights. FDOT said the school crossings are posted appropriately with school signing and pavement markings. Reduced speed school zones are typically installed at mid-block crossings.

The state road designation also means that it's unlikely the actual speed limit will be changed there, even if it's just for periods of time.

I spoke with Rockledge Police, which patrols those school zones, and although the department admits there can be challenges with those schools existing along state roads, it thinks their presence alone is enough to slow things down — even if it means occasionally helping the crossing guards stop traffic as well.

As for Giordano, she thinks that change is still needed before she will truly feel safe driving on Fiske Boulevard.

"Eventually, somebody is going to get hurt, whether it's a kid, a crossing guard, an accident or somebody having to slam on their brakes because somebody is cutting out in front of them."