PORT ANGELES – The Port Angeles city council has approved funding for a trial-run program to put flashing amber lights in a school zone to improve safety.
At an estimated cost of $30,000, which will come from general fund reserves, the plan is install the flashing beacons in the 20-mph zone at Franklin Elementary School.
Public Works Director Thomas Hunter this first step will inform officials about the effectiveness of the move and whether to expand the program to other schools. He says they’re also looking at the possibility of including speed cameras in some areas.
“I think that that is the plan. It’s really a global approach. We’ve identified these different tools in our tool belt of how to protect our youth in these school zones, and the first step was really to take one school zone, add these rapid flashing beacons and see how effective they are. And if they are effective and we continue to see improvement then will branch out and put them in other school zones. If those don’t prove to be effective enough, then we would move forward with the cameras. It’s all about understanding our traffic patterns and reminding our community that these are important times for us to slow down.”