Staff photo/Rhonda Silence Community members are reminded to watch for kids on the way to and from school and getting on and off school buses!
The community members working with the Arrowhead Regional Development Commission (ARDC) to develop safe routes to school (SRTS) have agreed on some short term measures to help make walking and biking to school safer, but it was also agreed that more difficult solutions are needed.
Following up on recent SRTS meetings, about 10 community members gathered at the School District 166 Jane Mianowski Conference Center on Monday, August 31 to hear the results of a SRTS parent survey.
Looking at the survey which showed collective concerns regarding the lack of sidewalks on most city streets, no crosswalks near the school, and traffic traveling too fast, Public Health Nurse Joni Kristenson noted that it was good for the group to get public input, “even if it simply confirms what we thought.”
Lack of sidewalks appears to be the biggest barrier to safe walking to school. Not only does it mean children must walk on the sides of the roads, it also prohibits creation of crosswalks near the school. Bill Parish of the County Highway Department said a crosswalk must connect sidewalk to sidewalk. The only street near the school with sidewalks its entire length is recently completed First Avenue West.
Parent Becky Sturm asked if more sidewalks could be built, especially on the lower side of County Road 7/5th Street, to enable the construction of crosswalks. Parish said it isn’t impossible, but added that there are no plans for sidewalks in the county’s current five-year plan for road construction. Grand Marais City Administrator Mike Roth said more sidewalks are in the city’s long-range plan, but there may not be funding to construct them.
Kristenson asked if signs or highway cones could be placed in the road to at least let motorists know that there is a potential for pedestrians crossing. Parish said the problem with signs is that drivers get used to seeing them and they eventually ignore them. Grand Marais City Councilor Tim Kennedy said he believes signs do work. He noted that the city lobbied the Minnesota Department of Transportation to allow the city to put signs up by the Dairy Queen and by Java Moose coffee shop. He said they seemed to help people get across the highway.
Parish recalled that when he was in school, crossing guards walked students part of the way home. ISD 166 Principal Gwen Carman said that had been considered, as part of a plan to create a “walking school bus,” but she reiterated the concern about the lack of sidewalks on city streets. “The problem is there is no sidewalk past the old Gunflint Trail. We actually tell the kids that live further out to take the bus,” she said, turning to Public Health Nurse Kristenson. “Sorry, that’s in conflict with your goal.”
Kristenson agreed that one goal for SRTS is to encourage healthier lifestyles by having kids walk and bike as much as possible, but said she understood the problems. “That’s why we’re at the table,” she said. “We’re looking for short and long term solutions.”
A number of ideas were offered to make walking and biker safer, such as increasing law enforcement patrols; having adult road crossing guards; shutting down through
traffic on County Road 7 when school opens and lets out; installing more
stop signs; installing speed bumps; and designating an alleyway as a walking/biking route. Parish suggested that the city and county meet to discuss the possibility of creating a walking/biking route through the city, possibly using alleyways when possible. “It makes sense to use something that already exists,” he said.
Ellen Pillsbury of ARDC, who is facilitating the SRTS program, sorted short-term and long-term solutions. She said she could research state-aid funding issues, to see if money is available to construct more sidewalks.
In the meantime, she listed the immediate steps that had been agreed on and that could be acted on, such as increased law enforcement presence; placement of the speed monitoring trailer in front of the school; snow removal on existing sidewalks; advertising for adult road crossing guards; and public service announcements on WTIP radio reminding the public to watch for kids.
Crossing guards—either students or community members—will continue to assist pedestrians crossing County Road 7/5th Street at four points, on First Avenue East between St. John’s Catholic Church and the Evangelical Free Church; at Broadway Avenue; at Bethlehem Lutheran Church on First Avenue West; and by the Cook County Community Center.
No one from Great Expectations School (GES) was at the meeting, however contacted by phone, Patsy Ingebrigtsen said there is a crosswalk by the GES driveway. just below the Law Enforcement Center on County Road 7. A crossing guard is on hand in the afternoon, but not in the morning. Parents are asked not to drop off their children in the parking lot, because of bus traffic. Parents are asked to drop off their children on the school side of the new Gunflint Trail.
The safe routes to school group agreed that at this time the safest intersection and road is First Avenue West, which now has new sidewalks on both sides of the street. City Councilor Tim Kennedy said, “It will be interesting to see how it works out on First Avenue; to see if walkers use the sidewalk this year.”
Want to be a Crossing Guard?
ISD 166 students currently serve as crossing guards, however they miss part of the school day. ISD 166 would like to find some adults who could perform this duty. Guards are needed in the morning from 7:45 – 8:20 a.m. and in the afternoon from 3:05 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. A small stipend may be available.
For more information, contact ISD 166 Principal Gwen Carman at (218) 387-2273.
Leave a Reply