The City of Pensacola and the Florida Department of Transportation have a problem—the first intersection coming off the Chappie James Bridge, Gregory Street and 14th Avenue, has had 22 vehicular crashes and three motorcycle fatalities in 2025 as of Dec. 8.
- The crashes reported by Mayor D.C. Reeves in an email to District 3 FDOT Secretary Tim Smith are triple times higher than the average of the previous two years.
AUGUST REPORT
In August, Interim Police Chief Kristin Brown reported the city had already recorded 10 traffic fatalities in 2025, with four months remaining in the year. The highest annual total over the past five years was just eight fatalities. Three of the motorcycle fatalities occurred at the same location, the intersection of 14th Avenue and Gregory
Chief Brown stated the bridge’s design had created conditions where drivers naturally accelerate, with little infrastructure in place to encourage speed reduction..
At the time, Mayor Reeves said, “You can understand where there’d be some speed happening there because there really isn’t anything to slow folks down.”
The media was told city officials would coordinate with FDOT to develop solutions. The Pensacola Police Department planned to deploy speed trailers and increase enforcement in this high-risk area.
NOVEMBER UPDATE
It’s uncertain whether those measures were taken because the topic came up again in November when Mayor Reeves reported the city’s red-light camera system issued 26,085 citations between Feb. 1 and Oct. 31, with 9th Avenue and Gregory Street merging as Pensacola’s most dangerous intersection by a significant margin.
- “When you have four approaches, Ninth and Gregory is 8,274 for one approach,” Reeves said. “So with a quarter of the directions, just the one westbound area, there’s more there than the next largest intersection that’s tracking all four approaches.”
At his Nov. 25 press conference, Reeves disclosed he met with Interim Police Chief Kristin Brown the previous day to discuss what he described as a “formalized request” for action on the Gregory and 14th Avenue intersection.
- “It’s one thing to identify a problem. Next is what’s the viable solution? And obviously FDOT’s voice and opinion in that is what matters most,” Reeves said. “Ultimately, it’s their road, but what we’ve been working on is trying to formulate the most educated recommendations we can give.”
DECEMBER FOLLOW-UP
When I brought up the matter at his Dec. 30 press conference, Mayor Reeves said that Secretary Smith had told him “they had actually started a review process internally in Chipley to look at what some options might be. So obviously, I’ve not seen that report yet, probably wouldn’t expect it around this time of year.”
He added, “But yes, our concerns were formalized, and I certainly made all of our staff and bandwidth available from public works to police.”
From: DC Reeves
Sent: Monday, December 8, 2025 11:12 AM
To: Smith, Timothy <tim.smith@dot.state.fl.us>
Cc: David Stafford <DStafford@cityofpensacola.com>; Amy Tootle <ATootle@cityofpensacola.com>; Brad Hinote <bradhinote@cityofpensacola.com>Subject: FDOT/Gregory Street
Sec. Smith,
Thank you for the discussion today and your continued efforts to help the City of Pensacola. I’ve enjoyed working collaboratively with FDOT on creative solutions and improvements to keep our citizens and visitors traveling safely and effectively.
As you know, my call was regarding safety concerns along Gregory Street, namely the northern terminus of the Chappie James Bridge, which has become a hot spot for vehicle crashes and fatalities. We are up to 22 traffic crashes at 14th Ave. and Gregory Street with a month to go in 2025, after 14 combined in the two years previous. We also have experienced three fatalities at that intersection in 2025.
I was greatly encouraged, and very appreciative, to know your FDOT District 3 team has already been studying this issue in recent weeks. It again shows your proactivity and commitment to everyone’s top priority in the city, public safety. I want you to know that our Pensacola Police Department is also doing what it can to help slow speeds and prevent accidents due to the alarming numbers.
Our City Engineer Brad Hinote, Public Works Director Amy Tootle and Chief of Police Kristin Brown are ready to collaborate and provide any support you need in a review of this area, and as always, I am personally available to assist anytime.
I greatly appreciate our strong partnership, your proactivity and willingness to work with us on issues and I’m proud of our successes in this community. Thank you for your consideration of this issue and I look forward to seeing the results of the study and what solutions come from that.
Sincerely,
D.C.
