Miami fifth-grader saved money to fund traffic safety program

A local fifth-grader has launched a new pedestrian safety initiative to help children more easily cross the streets of Coconut Grove.

• Lucas Kwiatkowski, who attends St. Stephen's Episcopal Day School, saved money from a lemonade stand to purchase "See Me Flags" for pedestrians to use when using the crosswalk.

How it works: Children grab a bright-orange flag stationed near the intersection, then cross the street while alerting oncoming drivers before returning the flag to the other side for the next pedestrian.

• The hand-held flags, invented by a father-daughter team, are used at crosswalks across the U.S.

The latest: The first flags were installed this week at the Main Highway intersection near St. Stephen's.

• The Coconut Grove Business Improvement District will fund up to three more flag systems in the Central Grove.