Hatton-McCredie Elementary Principal Brian Jobe petitioned the North Callaway School Board at its regular meeting Thursday to request more signs near the school.
He wants to request the Missouri Department of Transportation's (MoDOT) traffic division to add two signs along Highway M- a reduced speed limit sign in front of the school and a sign identifying a pedestrian crossing for bus drop-off in front of the Hatton Hills Mobile Home Park.
Jobe has received several calls from the community who expressed concern with the traffic during morning and evening pick-up, Jobe said, however he hasn't been notified of any reported accidents along that stretch of Highway M. Between five and 14 students are dropped off at the mobile home park and Jobe wants to prevent any accidents from occurring.
"We believe it's better to be safe than sorry and we'd rather be proactive than reactive," Jobe said.
Trent Brooks, the District Traffic Engineer with MoDOT, told the Fulton Sun that three options are available to the school:
The first option would be to place a pedestrian crossing signs at both locations.
The second option would be to enhance those pedestrian crossing signs with flashers during peak times to alert drivers to be on the lookout for school traffic and pedestrians.
The third option would be to place a reduced speed limit sign in front of the school that would alert drivers to reduce their speed during school hours, or at peak times when the school expects an increase in traffic, such as during morning drop-off or evening pick-up. This sign would be required to have flashers so drivers are aware the speed reduction is mandatory.
Brooks stated that any signage that included flashers would be at the school's expense and that they would be required to hire a contractor in order for those signs to be installed. However, Jobe told the board from information he received from MoDOT that the school would not be required to pay for the signs if they passed MoDOT's evaluation for needing signs placed at the two locations.
In regards to placing signs up to warn drivers of a bus stop a sight distance is measured to make sure the bus is visible from traffic traveling at certain speeds. State law requires school buses to have a sigh distance of 300 feet for traffic traveling 60 mph or below and a sight distance of 500 ft for traffic traveling faster than 60 mph, Brooks said.
Jobe provided documentation at the board meeting that school bus stops should not be signed as stated by Section 257.1855 of The Pupil Transportation Act, which doesn't allow stops to be in place if a sight distance is not met. If the sight distance is not met at the mobile home park the school will be forced to relocate the stop, according to the act.
In other news, the board agreed to move forward with plans for the "Thunderbird Hall of Fame," which would honor athletic achievements by individuals while attending North Callaway High School. Students wouldn't be eligible for nomination until five years post graduation and for staff to be nominated they would have to be employed with the district for five years, Mike Emmons, who is coordinating the Hall of Fame, said.
A committee to oversee the remainder of the project and nominations has already been formed and the group wants to induct eight nominees for its first year, inducting student athletes from the 60's.
Also at its regular meeting the board discussed first-day enrollment for the schools in the district. The district had 48 more students enrolled on its first day than on its first day for the 2014-15 school year, making for a total of 1,104. However, Superintendent Bryan Thomsen expects enrollment will stabilize as Labor Day approaches.