Hedges drives home the safety message

Sharon Bonderud, the principal at Cornelius Hedges School in Kalispell, has just one request of parents and students as school opens this fall:

Slow down, look both ways and be careful where you walk.

Among torn-up sidewalks, new asphalt, revised traffic patterns and a school frontage that is off-limits to all vehicles except buses, some pretty major changes took place at the elementary school during the summer.

Sidewalks could be the biggest obstacle for young feet in the school's opening days.

In a joint project between School District 5 and the city of Kalispell, sidewalks around the school were ripped out last week and the process of pouring new walkways was begun.

There also will be a new handicap-accessible ramp on Fourth Avenue East.

Bonderud said the project was delayed from an expected earlier start. Unfortunately, it leaves the school area in a mess for a bit longer than expected.

Until the new sidewalks and ramp are usable, parents and students are asked to use the rear entries to the school.

The city's traffic safety study of the Hedges area last year prompted the changes.

Bonderud said the changes should "provide a safe environment for all children arriving and leaving the school grounds by creating order out of what was formerly a very chaotic traffic situation.

Here are the essentials:

-To drop off or pick up children, drive east on Eighth Street to the loading zone on the north side of the playground behind the school. Parallel park in the loading zone to wait for children, but don't leave your car. Pull all the way forward to leave room for more vehicles behind you.

There's a new asphalt walkway from the loading zone to the playground and school building, much wider than before.

Watch for traffic as you re-enter and continue east on Eighth Street.

-Don't want to use the loading zone? Park on designated side streets and walk children to the playground.

"No Parking" areas are the south side of Eighth Street (used for overflow traffic waiting to enter the loading zone), and the north side of Ninth Street (too narrow for parked vehicles and moving traffic).

-Do not use Ninth Street or Fifth Avenue along the playground to deliver and collect children. There were several near-misses there before the school implemented the current plan last November.

-The bus zone is moved to the front of the school, on Fourth Avenue East. It follows traffic engineers' recommendations to separate bus traffic from parent traffic.

Only those needing handicap accessibility to the school will be allowed to use Fourth. A special parking permit is available.

-At the end of the school day, staff members will walk students to the playground asphalt area where parents and children can find each other more easily. Please do not allow children to play in the field or the playground at dismissal time - there's no supervision, and waiting parents can hold up traffic.

In all, Bonderud is counting on families cooperating with the plan.

"Given the tight schedules and busy lives of many of our families," she wrote in a press release, "it's important to remember that Hedges School is located in a charming historic neighborhood which reflects a time when life was less chaotic and parents had more time.

"The older neighborhood means narrower streets which create more congestion," she said.

If tempers flare and drivers ignore the traffic plan, everyone's at risk. That includes the school crossing guards and children.

Police will patrol the school zone and help enforce traffic regulations.

One last note: Hedges parents and school district maintenance crews brought in new wood chips over the summer to cover the playground surface. It, too, should make things a little safer for Hedges students.

So come to school this morning to enjoy the open house from 8 to 8:30 a.m. - kindergarten's is from 8:15 to 11 a.m. and from 12:30 to 3:15 p.m. - and have a safe year.

Reporter Nancy Kimball can be reached at 758-4483 or by e-mail at nkimball@dailyinterlake.com.