BELGRADE - Concerns have come up from crossing guards, and the community as the City of Belgrade considered raising speed limits along Jackrabbit Road from 15 mph to 20 mph.
“It's the people that are heading to work that don't have kids. That we get flipped off by, we get yelled at, cussed at. The teachers tell us, 'I wouldn't want your job that's scary out there,'” says Cindy Hibl, Paraprofessional at Saddle Peak Elementary.
The worry for Hibl, is the safety of her and her students as they head to school.
“We have had to pull kids out of the way a few times,” says Hibl.
The city weighed the option for raising the limit along Jackrabbit.
“What we learned is that there were different speed limits in school zones. So, our city Manager Mr.Cardwell wanted to make those uniform,” says Russell Nelson, Mayor of Belgrade.
Right now, the school speed limit along Jackrabbit is 15 mph, but along Broadway, it's 20 mph. What the city proposed was making all school speed limits 20 mph hoping that it would be easier for drivers.
“As people drive around town they don't have to say 'oh!' and be alarmed that they are going too fast because they thought it was 20,” says Nelson.
After public comment raising the speed limits has been put on hold, but the discussion around safety continues.
“We're not going to change anything now, it's going to remain as it is,” says Nelson.
As the city now looks for alternatives Hibl wants the city to consider safety.
“My hope is that the city puts lights that blink, they have them up at MSU, you push a button and then it blinks,” says Hibl.
Principal Patrick Cates hopes to provide more safety for his students.
“Talking to other school districts and other people that have been in other districts, things that they have done is having blinking lights and arms that can come down when your crossing guards are out there,” says Cates.
To catch drivers’ attention.
“A lot more visibility for the drivers to see that there is a block there,” says Cates
When it comes to more crosswalk visibility Mayor Nelson says.
Russ “I think that's going to be a good safety measure, that we're going to talk about and probably will come to fruition,” says Nelson.
The city will now start the process to look at alternatives. Cindy wants the community to know.
“We do it because we care about the kids' safety, we don't get paid that much to do it, we do it because we care about the kids,” says Hibl.
The city will conduct research on the matter, and hopes to come up with new proposals in the coming months.
