Five schools to have safety zone upgrades in Colorado Springs for new school year
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- The March 2023 crosswalk death of a Doherty High School student after being struck by a car led city traffic engineers to start an effort to improve safety around school zones.
As students resume classes this week for the fall semester, five schools will now have flashing yellow lights in the school zones along their campuses -- an extra alert to drivers of the slower 20mph speed limit.
Before Doherty received the upgrade a month after the 2023 tragedy, the city didn't have flashers around high schools because it was believed that older student pedestrians could better navigate crosswalks in school zones.
But with most high schools located on major streets -- the Doherty death was on busy Barnes Road near the Austin Bluffs Parkway intersection -- and with an increase in pedestrian deaths in and around the city, officials are focused on improving safety in those zones.
However, some middle schools also will receive the flashers; that should please the community around Jenkins Middle School on Austin Bluffs Parkway.
The city created a safety zone along the Jenkins campus last summer, after the Doherty tragedy; but it didn't include flashers and some parents said that without them, drivers ignored the lower speed limit.
Some parents feel that police should provide more traffic enforcement around areas without flashers; police say that they understand the concern but emphasize that their resources are limited.
"For my motorcycle unit, we're supposed to have a staffing of 20 officers and two sergeants," said Lt. Jason Reeser. "I have 13 officers. So, I'm down almost almost 50% staffing in that unit. So, with that in mind and the amount of school zones we have, we try to hit as many school zones as we can within the city with limited resources. We can only be in so many places."
Reeser also said that police soon hope to have two speed cameras -- mobile red light cameras mounted in cars-- positioned at two schools that don't have flashers.
Among the five schools receiving new flashers: Coronado High School and nearby Holmes Middle School in District 11; Pine Creek High School in District 20; and Sand Creek High School and grades kindergarten through 8 schools in District 49.
Meanwhile, Jenkins and Mitchell High School (District 11); Carmel Community School (District 2); Rampart High School (District 20); and Vista Ridge High School (District 49) will soon have flasher installations on their campuses and have them turned on at the beginning of next year.
Watch KRDO 13's The Road Warrior on Tuesday to learn more about the process of installing flashers in school zones, the cost involved and how many schools need them.
