Lancaster County Board approves more traffic safety signs near Norris campus

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) — South 68th Street near Norris Public Schools is often jam-packed with cars and buses as families rush to drop off and pick up their kids.

“It’s so congested,” Chief Deputy Ben Houchin said. “People are having to slow down.”

There have been multiple crashes near Norris within recent years.

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“The turn out there where you can’t see through traffic, that makes it so much more difficult, especially for new drivers.”

The Lancaster County Board of Commissioners passed a proposal Tuesday to add more flashing signs in the area.

Superintendent Derrick Joel said with those signs telling drivers to slow down, he is expecting to see improvements.

“We are a consolidated campus with all of our buildings on a single site, so before and after school, we see a significant volume of traffic,” he said.

The Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office has placed a speed trailer outside the school with a sign showing drivers how fast they’re going.

“They’re not only collecting the rates of speed at different parts of the day, but they’re also collecting the total number of traffic,” Joel said.

Houchin said he is hopeful for the future.

“If we can have a whole year without anyone having a crash within a mile radius of that school, I think we would be calling it very successful,” he said. “Kids are very important to us all, as we know, and making sure that they’re safe and giving them the biggest opportunity to stay safe is what we are trying to do.”