Officials of the City of Smithville and the DeKalb County School System have come up with a plan for dealing with traffic problems in the school zone at Northside Elementary School, but Alderman Shawn Jacobs says many parents still want someone to direct traffic there.
During a workshop meeting of the mayor and aldermen Monday night, Alderman Jacobs says parents are upset and they want the city to take action. “No one is satisfied with the plan that was worked out. These mothers are mad. They’re saying it’s just playing politics and that it’s something that should have been fixed in fifteen minutes, but it’s been drawn out for a month. If nothing else, for public relations gentlemen, I think we need to put an officer directing traffic at Northside. I mean, that’s public safety and that’s what police departments do. I’m just speaking from the number of complaints I get and I’m just trying to be responsive to the people that call me. I hate to get into this blame game where everyone is saying that everybody is trying to blame everybody else and whose responsibility it is. I don’t care whose responsibility it is, I just want to address what is being perceived, at least, as a safety concern and try to be responsive to the people, especially if we can do it without costing any money.”
The aldermen are expected to discuss the issue again during the regular meeting Monday night at seven p.m. at city hall.
Concerns were raised last month during a meeting of the Smithville Mayor and Aldermen that an accident could occur in the school zone unless the problem is addressed. The issue is that parents who pick up their children in the afternoons have to line up on the shoulder of Highway 56 north which makes it difficult for motorists exiting the school parking lot from being able to see around them. And because of the heavy traffic on Highway 56 during that time, many motorists leaving the school have to wait a long time before they can get back out on the road. Some say either the city, county, or school system should have an officer or trained civilian to direct traffic there during the mornings and afternoons.
To come up with an alternative, Director of Schools Mark Willoughby met last month with Smithville Alderman and Police Commissioner Aaron Meeks, Smithville Police Chief Richard Jennings, Northside Elementary School Principal Dr. Gayle Redmon, and Transportation Supervisor Peggy Pursell.
Willoughby says the proposal they came up with is to extend the school zone at Northside Elementary to Smith Road and to have the buses enter and exit on Smith Road. Parents would no longer be permitted to park on the shoulder of the road but they would have more room to enter and exit the school from Highway 56. There are apparently no plans under this proposal to have anyone directing traffic. ” We’ll be re-directing our buses to enter and leave through the Smith Road area. Therefore, the buses will not be lined up with car traffic in the mornings or afternoons, which we’re hoping will help some. We’re not going to start this right now, we’re going to wait for a few things to happen,. We’re going to move the flashing lights down there at Smith Road, then we will move (extend) the school zone a little bit further down the road. By doing that, we’re hoping to get those buses away from the cars. And then the cars would be snaking through the parking lot, similar to what they have in the past. But we’ll be getting the buses out of the way. The cars would be entering and exiting the same place they have always have, the only difference is that the buses will not be entering or exiting in the places where they have in the past. The buses will only be entering and exiting at Smith Road..”
Again Willoughby says the plan has not yet been implemented. TDOT may have to grant permission to extend the school zone before the signs and flashing lights can be relocated and some minor work has to be done at the entrance to the school property from Smith Road in order for buses to have easier access.
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