The city council will likely approve installing lighted stop signs at the crosswalk where a Toll Middle School student was killed in October. The proposed installation and two other major recommendations are part of the city’s plan to address continuing traffic problems in the vicinity, where more than 4,000 students attend the middle school and adjacent Hoover High School and Mark Keppel Elementary School.
More than 60 people gathered Wednesday night in Hoover auditorium to hear about the city’s plan and voice concerns. More details on the meeting are available in today’s Glendale News Press. One parent, who had asked the city council last week for increased traffic enforcement and police presence in the vicinity, thankfully acknowledged the additional morning and afternoon patrols quite visible since then.
City Manager Jim Starbird commented, and others have noted, that no amount of enforcement or traffic redesign can guarantee no future accidents or fatalities. Drivers need to stay attentive at all times, especially in this crowded area with lots of young pedestrians. Above all, students must be taught to stay alert, watch traffic, make eye contact with oncoming drivers, and walk defensively at all times.