Sheldon, Iowa — School is back in session, and we need to remind motorists about the additional vigilance needed this time of year.
With the exceptionally long summer vacation this year, the kids are going to be anxious to hang out with their friends and see their teachers, and may not always be paying attention when walking to or from school. Conversely, motorists need to pay particular attention to crosswalks and speed zones.
KIWA talked with Sheldon Police Chief Scott Burtch Monday morning, and he said the crosswalk issue hasn’t seemed to be a major problem, but he did receive a message from a concerned parent over the weekend.
(As said) “I had a message from a concerned parent this weekend about the crosswalks, so we sat and checked those today (Monday), and we did see several people not observe the crosswalk signs. Unfortunately, we can’t catch them all, but we did get one person who did not observe it.”
Chief Burtch says the fine for failure to yield to a pedestrian is a hefty $215.25. He says that’s a stiff penalty and his officers are hoping drivers pay attention so they don’t have to hand out very many tickets.
(As above) “It is. We’re hoping we don’t get to that point and they realize that school is back in session, but the kids have got to be safe, so we’ll issue citations if we have to.”
Street resurfacing projects in some areas of town have removed the painted crosswalk lines from the street, but Burtch says you still need to watch for and obey the crosswalk signs.
(As above) “So there’s a sign there at 6th and Washington. And also, at any intersection the cars have to yield to pedestrians at the intersection, so we also kind of observed some of that not happening today (Monday).”
He says that so far this school year he’s not aware of a major problem with excessive speed in the school zones, but he says………..
(As above) “Of course, with all the pedestrian traffic, hopefully people are paying attention and not driving too fast.”
So motorists, please pay close attention to your speed, and remember to yield to pedestrians in the crosswalks.
