Watertown officials are wisely considering a traffic study along the school zone on Washington Street to determine how to increase safety for children.
Jaden Thomas, an 11-year-old student at Wiley Intermediate School, was struck by a 2016 Ford Escape walking in the crosswalk at Washington Street and Barben Avenue at about 7:45 a.m. March 29. Police cited the driver, 22-year-old Ernalyn T. Peters of Watertown, with failing to yield to a pedestrian in a crosswalk.
Jaden’s father, Ira Thomas, told City Council members last week that he intends to drive his children and a girl from the neighborhood to school until officials develop a plan to increase safety for students. Hundreds of students cross that busy section of four-lane street each weekday to get to the intermediate school, Case Middle School and Watertown High School.
Police have reported that four other accidents have occurred in that vicinity since 2013. Five teens were injured while walking in crosswalks, and another one was struck while riding a bicycle.
This stretch of Washington Street is used by about 15,000 vehicles every day, many of which overlook the fact that they have entered a school zone — where the speed limit is 20 mph. Digital signs showing motorists how fast they are traveling offer some deterrence, but even these can be ignored if there are no officers present to pull over speeders and write tickets.
Five crosswalks are located within 1,400 feet in the school zone. This area has 20 mph speed limit signs, other traffic signage, striping and smaller supplemental pedestrian signs placed in the crosswalks during nicer weather.
The city last week stationed two patrol cars at Chestnut Street and at the Kinney Drugs parking lot while children walk to school in the morning and when it lets out in the afternoon. Officers also patrolled the area earlier this week to pull over those speeding through the school zone.
The crosswalks must be repainted each year because they fade, which makes them at times difficult for motorists to see. City officials should study this to determine if something can be done to make the crosswalks highly visible more often.
Mayor Joseph M. Butler Jr. recommended a traffic study be done on this section of Washington Street. City Engineer Justin L. Wood said information obtained from such a study would include pedestrian counts, the physical layout of businesses and driveways, and other details.
“We have an obligation to do something to resolve it and make sure the alternative is well thought out,” he said in an article published April 6 in the Watertown Daily Times.
City Manager Sharon A. Addison said she will speak with city school district officials to see if they can devise a strategy for increasing safety. Members of the city’s Complete Streets committee, which examines ways to ensure streets are safe for everyone who uses them, said they also intend to study the situation.
These are good recommendations that should yield effective policies. Having a better idea of how many pedestrians use the crosswalks in the school zone will allow officials to make better decisions about what measures can best protect students and when to use them.