CHP gives tips on how to reduce school traffic hazards

Many Merced area schools kicked off the first day of school Monday, and along with pictures, school supplies and meeting new teachers came traffic jams and parking problems.

Merced City Schools, Merced Union High School District, and McSwain, Planada, Snelling and Winton were just a few places where school started Monday. That means it was the first day many vehicles were back on the road before 8 a.m.

Traffic at McSwain School was backed up to Highway 140 about 7:45 a.m. Monday while parents walked their children to classrooms and snapped last-minute photos. With little to no shoulder, cars were parked on the side of the road all along Scott Road, blocking drivers’ view of pedestrians about to cross the street.

At Franklin Elementary, it was a similar situation. Many parents parked in nearby neighborhoods and walked their children the rest of the way to the school site.

Moises Onsurez, a California Highway Patrol officer, had a few pointers for schools and parents to make school traffic less of a headache.

Onsurez encourages parents to leave early at least in the beginning of the school year and to have patience. Leaving early gives drivers time to deal with accidents, closed exits from the freeway and congestion near school sites.

That’s just what Isabel Barcelos did to make sure her fourth-grader, Vivica, got to school on time. The mother and daughter woke up an hour early to beat traffic and arrive at McSwain School on time.

“We were prepared and anticipated the traffic,” Barcelos said. “(Highway) 99 can get clogged up, and you never know what can happen. There could be an accident or construction. It helped us be prepared.”

And, it helped Vivica have a good first day back at school, she said.

Onsurez also encouraged parents to make sure their students use crosswalks instead of darting into the road. For older high school students, it’s important to follow traffic signals and not cross when oncoming traffic has a green light, he said. It’s also problematic when parents drop off students on the road, rather than in school drop-off lanes or parking, he said.

It’s helpful for student pedestrians and traffic when schools provide crossing guards. “They’re visible, they stop traffic and they’re taller than most students,” he said.

When drivers come across school buses, Onsurez said vehicles must stop whenever the red lights are flashing, even if the stop sign on the bus is not out.

After-school traffic often looks exactly the same as before school, Onsurez said.

At McSwain, teachers have devised a system where students whose parents pick them up line up at the front of the school. Teachers recognize parents, their vehicles or ask who the drivers are to alert students to stand in front of a number.

“It gets the parents and the kids in and out,” said teacher Cynthia Cassidy, who was facilitating the system with another teacher Monday afternoon.

It’s also a good safety precaution, she said. “We do it everyday, so we get to know the parents, cars and kids,” Cassidy said. “If we don’t recognize someone, we make sure the student has a note and we get a copy.”

By 3:10 p.m., the first day of school – and the traffic – had come and gone.

This story was originally published August 17, 2015 at 6:14 PM with the headline "CHP gives tips on how to reduce school traffic hazards."