What are your thoughts on School Zones?

[texaskdog]

Most of the people driving badly in school zones are dropping kids off (cellphones, no turn signals) and there are never any kids out by the street.

[spmkam]

In my hometown, the speed limit is maintained so it will stay at 25, 30 or even 40 miles per hour. The key is crosswalks with stoplights.

[NE2]

But not all states recognize unmarked crosswalks as legal crossing points for pedestrians.

[citation needed]

[and I think you mean points where peds have right-of-way, not legal crossing points]

[Central Avenue]

Speed limit in effect only when school is getting in and letting out.  NOT 24 hours, NOT "7am-5pm on school days." (I'm glaring at you, Iowa.)  ONLY when school is getting in and letting out.

Even that's better than Ohio's de facto standard of simply "during restricted hours", which quite honestly seems to be designed to trap motorists by making it unclear as to whether the 20 mph speed limit applies at any given time.

ORC 4511.21 specifies the 20 mph limit "during school recess and while children are going to or leaving school during the opening or closing hours" but it also states that schools are not required to post specific hours or use flashing lights.

I mean seriously, I'm usually the last person to complain about school zones--the idea of "slow down to reduce the chance that you accidentally hit a kid" is a very reasonable one--but I can't think of any reason how deliberately creating ambiguity like that would increase safety instead of just increasing revenue.

[ilvny]

My thoughts on school zones are simple.

1.  Speed limit in effect only when school is getting in and letting out.  NOT 24 hours, NOT "7am-5pm on school days." (I'm glaring at you, Iowa.)  ONLY when school is getting in and letting out.

3. 10-15mph under the normal speed limit.  There's a school zone in Maine somewhere, can't remember the highway, but it's a 55mph highway and the limit drops to 15 for the school zone.  Furthermore, the school is on a road that only intersects with the 55mph highway, there are no pedestrian crossings on the highway.  The school zone is posted 500 feet leading and trailing this intersection.  WTF, Maine?  a reduction to 45 or even 50 would do just fine, you don't need to drop the speed limit by 40mph for that.

I would add to your list "No reduced speed during recess."  Most schools have fenced-in playgrounds and playground aides to prevent children from running in the street, to get a ball for instance.

[D-Dey65]

Somebody out there has a really freaky view of them:

https://imgflip.com/i/1lopwo

 

[hm insulators]

 

Somebody out there has a really freaky view of them:

https://imgflip.com/i/1lopwo

Never thought of it that way, but that was good!

[roadman]

Bumping the thread by cross-posting an item from another thread:

This past Monday, the Town of Wakefield (MA) just posted the section of Albion Street - one of the Town's major east-west streets - between Mountain Ave and Gould Street as a 20 mph school zone, effective Monday - Friday (per the tab on the sign), and re-signed all the intermediate crosswalks as school crossings.  The school this is intended to benefit isn't even on Albion Street, but on a dead-end side street about a block away.  Not to mention that the intersection of Albion and Broadway, which is in the middle of the new school zone, is fully signalized with crosswalks and an exclusive ped phase.

At least the Town hasn't yet implemented the town-wide '25 mph unless otherwise posted' nonsense the State Legislature foolishly enacted into law last year.

[US 89]

I have no problem with school zones. All school zones in Utah are 20 mph, when lights are flashing.

However, what bugs the shit out of me is when they post school zones on major arterials, often with just the small flashing lights on one side, probably obscured by trees. I can think of several major arterials with a speed limit of 40 (one of which is six lanes wide) with a school zone, and there's at least one school zone on a 45 mph street near me. If it's really a big issue for children to cross highways like this, just put in a pedestrian light and have a crossing guard there.

[Hurricane Rex]

I don't have a problem with school zones just as long as the hours are reasonable (2005 Oregon, I'm looking at you) and it the zone is around the school property/close crosswalks only.

Also in rural Yamhill County, OR, There is a school zone in a 55 mph limit that is in the Newberg school district. Normal 7-5.