Jaywalking near Herriman High has parents concerned

During a recent South Jordan City Council meeting, a local resident brought up concerns with crossing issues near Herriman High School.
"The corner of 11800 South 6000 West is a dangerous place for students to be crossing," Shanna Bird, a resident of Sunstone Village said. The Sunstone development is the neighborhood directly north of the high school.
"I feel we have a legitimate safety concern, not just for (high school) students who cross the road at 11800 South but also for the younger kids who cross there," Bird said.
Bird will have a student attending the high school next year and does not want to worry about his safety while crossing the busy road.
When Bird took her concern to the school board, she was told that it was a city issue, so she took it to the city. Not only did she get South Jordan involved, but because 11800 South is the boundary between the two cities, she also approached Herriman officials.
During the council meeting, several solutions were suggested. Bird suggested putting in a crosswalk where the students are crossing.
"What we really wanted was a mid-block crossing but both city engineers didn't seem to want that," Bird said.
When the high school was built, the city put a signal button with a crosswalk light at the intersection on 5600 West and 11800 South but Bird said the crosswalk is far away from where high school students want to cross.
Several of the students have taken to jaywalking in the area as a shortcut to and from school. But because the speed limit is 50 mph eastbound where they cross, Bird worries about their safety. The westbound speed limit westbound is already at 35 mph.
"We're worried -- they're kids. No matter how many times you tell them not to do it, it's going to happen," Bird said.
In February, the South Jordan Council authorized a speed study to determine if the area warrants an actual school zone crossing.
"Due to the dividing factor of the road, we thought that the issue may be slightly problematic in solving," John Geilmann, South Jordan city manager said.
Herriman crews have started putting up slower speed limit signs as well as school crossing signs. These signs are currently covered as Herriman has to wait for South Jordan to put up signs on its side of the street.
"The intent is for drivers to be more interested and more aware of their surroundings in this area," Gordon Haight, Herriman City community development director, said.

By Alisha Tondro for The South Valley Journal

Published in April 2011 in Riverton, Utah

http://www.southvalleyjournal.com/pages/full_story/?id=6326&type=Articles&numitems=1&startitem=0&showimages=1