City, Hall-Kent planning street safety day

Hall-Kent Elementary students will learn about street safety during their physical education classes on Friday, April 5, in a new program put together by the city of Homewood and Homewood City Schools.

Ward 2 City Councilor Andrew Wolverton said he and other West Homewood drivers have been increasingly concerned about kids crossing Oak Grove Road unsafely, especially in the afternoons when dismissed from school. He said children have darted in front of his car to get to Patriot Park on multiple occasions.

Mark Driskill, who owns Ash on Oak Grove Road, said he has seen the same problem from kids who come to his restaurant for a meal before going to the park.

The new playground and pool opening this summer will only increase foot traffic across Oak Grove Road, Wolverton said.

"We want people to be walking places ... but we want it to be as safe as possible," Wolverton said.

The street safety day is an effort to make kids more mindful of traffic dangers when they walk to the park or other places around Homewood. There will be traffic safety lessons leading up to April 5, when each class will visit the park instead of their regular PE class.

Wolverton said Homewood Police officers will be on-hand to teach kids in a real-life environment.

This program will be a pilot and he said he has been in conversations about expanding it to the other elementary schools and Homewood Middle School if it proves successful.

The other part of traffic safety is making sure drivers are paying attention to the potential hazards in the area. The council's public safety committee discussed different parking and traffic flow options for the area, including additional crosswalks.

The council will vote on an ordinance to prohibit street parking on Oak Grove Road at the park and Senior Center area at its April 1 meeting.