Back to School safety: extra patrols expected

School buses will start rolling through neighborhoods Thursday to mark the first day of the fall semester for Blackwell Public Schools, and Blackwell Chief of Police Dewayne Wood has words of wisdom for motorists as school starts again.

“School has been out for months,” Wood said.

“That means your average driver really isn’t used to looking out for kids around the elementary school, middle and high school. So, as the school zone signs light back up, that means drivers will need to slow down and be careful about their surroundings.”

The City of Blackwell has three school zones. Motorists needed to follow slower speed limits at certain times of the day in these zones. They include the area around Blackwell Elementary School on Ferguson Avenue; areas along 1st Street, Crest Avenue and Main Street near Blackwell Middle School; and areas along Main Street and Coolidge Avenue near Blackwell High School.

Drivers should keep a watchful eye in surrounding residential areas for children who may be walking to and from school. As of press time Tuesday morning August 17, due to the repaving work done on Main Street, the traffic lights on Main and Coolidge are still a 4-way stop. Chief of Police Wood stated that the City of Blackwell is doing everything they can in hopes to get them set up as traffic lights before the start of the semester, but if not that extra patrols will be set up to ensure the stop functions smoothly and that pedestrians and students are safe.

“Safety is our No. 1 priority, of course, from the morning when they get to school until every last kid gets home in the afternoon,” Wood said. “We’re going to have a noticeable presence in the weeks ahead, as the start of a semester is usually hectic enough, especially when you consider we’ll have new drivers taking themselves to school and new parents taking their kids to the schools.” Wood said traffic usually tapers off after the first week of school.

That’s because parents and grandparents will be taking kids on their first days, Wood said. “We encourage parents to leave early in the mornings and allow themselves plenty of time to do everything they need to do,” Wood said. “We want everyone to have a safe and fun school year.”