Debate about school speed zone at City Council

Putting in a reduced speed zone in northeast Lincoln was a topic of debate at the City Council Monday night.

Concerned parents are pushing to make changes near 84th and Leighton in Lincoln.

They want to put in place a reduced speed zone in the area.

The group says it’s too dangerous for kids traveling to and from school at Kahoa Elementary. Monday, Their voices were heard at City Council.

City Council Cyndi Lamm said, "I think it’s important to protect the children in northeast Lincoln. This protects their crossing, across 84th Street at Leighton Avenue. These parents deserve peace of mind. These kids deserve safe passage."

The school is seven blocks away from the intersection and nearly 200 students live on the east side of 84th, forcing them to cross the busy intersection.

Travis Langemeier, who is parent of students at the school started a petition to get over 1,000 signatures by last Friday. He came to City Council with nearly 900.

His wife, Ann Langemeier said, "Really it’s just time to do it. We’ve had so many excuses up until now, so we really hope that with this final push, that we can get the final support we need from the city."

They’ve proposed reducing the speed from 45 to 40 mph, then eventually to 25 mph in the school zone, but city engineers say that could cause even more danger with abrupt speed changes; and they say they already have safety measures put in place.

With marked cross walks and controlled signals. In part of a statement to Channel 8, Director of the City of Lincoln Public Works and Utilities Dept. MIki Esposito said:

"For the safety of school children, we cannot in good conscience support a school zone at 84th and Leighton. All of our studies, expertise and engineering standards show that the crossing would become more unsafe for students and all pedestrians. Just like your child’s car seat, a safety mechanism when used incorrectly no longer protects the child. We all showed up for the same reason tonight–the safety of our pedestrians. We are respectfully asking the council to help us work with the parents and schools to find the right set of safety tools to protect the children."

The project is estimated to cost $150,000 and will come up for a vote next Monday.

The Langemeiers have been working on this for six years. Again, there will be a vote next Monday on whether to approve the project.