Monday, May 17, 2010

TWENTY IS THE RULE NEAR THE SCHOOL

Dane made up the above logo after working really hard to come up with "Drive Twenty-Five - Keep Kids Alive!" which was a good idea, if, um, a bit inaccurate for a school zone.

Walker Elementary won a "Safe Routes To School" grant this year - the only school in the district to snag the grant, thanks to their four years of "Walker Wednesdays." (Kids get to enter drawings for prizes when they walk, bike, or take the bus on Walker Wednesdays.)

Since we walk or bike to school every day, I responded to the coordinator's email and said we'd be happy to make signs over the weekend and help out before school.


So the kids made these signs on Sunday and we walked to school an hour early last Monday. At the corner of Iowa (our street) and Walker (the school's street) we stood with Officer Steve, recording speeds and license plates and vehicle makes and driver gender. Officer Steve would then be mailing those folks notices that they were speeding and the next offense would be a big fat ticket.


While we were out there, a couple drivers got clocked speeding TWICE that morning and a couple drivers had been clocked speeding the week before! (In a school zone, for crying out loud!)

Officer Steve and the other coordinators said that drivers slow down for a couple weeks after speed traps like that - especially if they haven't had speed traps in the zone for a long time.

I'm still trying to figuring out if two weeks is considered successful, or a crying shame... Whatever the case, remember

TWENTY IS THE RULE
NEAR THE SCHOOL

and if you obey that law, we'll say:


WAY TO GO!
KEEP IT SLOW!

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

COOL signs and great slogans, kids!
Way to make sure people are aware of the danger too much speed could be to some kid. I hope your volunteering will make a difference to some of those drivers.
Oooo...scarey that some drivers aren't getting it at all (TWICE!).
Proud of you all.
Love, Mom/Mema

Jennie Englund said...

Those signs are SO great!

HopefulMama said...

Way to raise civic minded kids Anj!

Anonymous said...

Those signs and slogans make me want to keep my speed down to twenty miles an hour when I'm near schools.
When I'm driving I will use my speedometer to check my speed. When I'm bicycling, I'll have to use my GPS. What willI I use when I'm running? I guess I will just have to walk when I'm around schools to keep my speed down.
Love, GrandDad
(from Plattsburgh, NY - look it up)