Solution in sight for crosswalk controversy

NORTH CANAAN – Issues at a crosswalk adjacent to North Canaan Elementary School seem to be on their way toward resolution. The solution to ongoing traffic problems at this location may be as simple as enforcement of the law and safety practices, combined with barriers and the installation of flashing lights. But will making people more aware solve the problems, or will it take giving out tickets to those violating parking regulations, running crossing guard and street stop signs and disregarding a one-way street designation?Resident State Trooper Jim Promotico has said he will crack down and write tickets. The school board’s transportation committee has launched a list of objectives. They include working with the resident trooper and first selectman on specific protocol for crossing guards.There is also a plan, yet to be put into place, for a barrier to be placed to prevent drivers from turning onto Pease Street the wrong way and a look at installing school zone signs with flashing lights. The committee passed along a recommendation by crossing guard Don Caranci to consider making Pease Street one-way full time. They will ask the Board of Selectmen to have an engineering study done. The road is currently designated as one-way from 8 to 9 a.m. and 2:30 to 3:30 p.m.Principal Rosemary Keilty will re-issue a memo sent to parents in October that spells out the details of safety procedures when walking or driving in the school zone.The town is also being asked to take care of problems with a parking lot installed several years ago across from the school. The uneven pavement and lack of lighting prevent some from using it.They will ask Promotico to review with Caranci the average 600 violations per month he has cited. As part of his effort to remedy safety issues, he has been voice recording each violation in between crossing students.Watching and tallying trafficObserving several arrival and dismissal sessions recently, this reporter kept a tally of drivers apparently breaking the law. That included not coming to a complete stop at stop signs and/or not using turn signals (especially important at the busy intersection), driving the wrong way on the one-way street and distracted driving. There were, on average 24 violations per day, which easily upholds Caranci’s analysis of 600 per month.Just as notable are the other things drivers and pedestrians did. It seemed the majority of vehicles were speeding; exceeding not just the lower limit of a school zone, but the regular posted street limit. That included parents driving notably fast into the school circle, including one morning when a school bus was in the circle loading students for a field trip. The bus driver did not activate the bus’s flashing red lights. Numerous cars pulled in behind the bus, dropped students and squeezed past the bus to exit the circle. Meanwhile, students dropped off by parents on the street crossed the grass and the driveway between the bus and moving vehicles.Those observed violating laws included parents, teachers, school staff, a selectman and a Region One administrator. Numerous teachers arrived with their own children in tow, parking in the Town Hall lot. There is a walkway along the Pease Street side. That and a paved walkway at the corner of the parking lot lead directly to the crosswalk that runs diagonally across the intersection. Yet, many of the teachers, as well as some parents, led their children through the lot’s travel lanes and out into the road to access the crosswalk. More than one parent approached this reporter, urging pressure toward a solution to a dangerous situation. One said she did not think it was a matter of people not caring, and that mornings are definitely worse, which seems to reflect a higher stress level. Many parents are dropping off students on their way to work.Whose responsibility?What has stymied the process is a jurisdictional issue. Caranci had been bounced back and forth between the school board and selectmen. He is a town employee, and the school board has sent him time and again to the selectmen. But the selectmen say the school needs to direct him to respond to its needs. A dangerous situation in the middle of town, where Caranci crossed students on Main Street (Route 44) for 10 years, was resolved in January by those students being assigned to buses. The crosswalk by the school was manned for the first time. Caranci was even more distressed by what he saw there than on the state highway.Efforts over the years to keep people from parking in fire lanes in the bus circle and on Pease Street have been unsuccessful. The fine was raised from $2 to an eventual $15. Promotico said the fine should be raised even more.Another school’s approachSalisbury Central is the only other Region 1 school to use a crossing guard; this one assigned to the intersection of Route 44 and Lincoln City Road, adjacent to the school. Principal Christopher Butwill said that it’s clear there that the guard is a town employee, as part of the public safety department. The Resident State Trooper is a regular presence there, sends letters to families to raise awareness and deals with traffic issues, Butwill said. Issues with students are brought to the school to be dealt with.