Warnings, if not lights, flash on school crossings

Friday, Aug. 25, 2006 | 7:21 a.m.

The crossing guard was ready. So were the adorable moppets on loan from nearby Gehring Elementary School. Metro Police motorcycle and patrol units were in place to assist with traffic control. And TV news crews were ready to capture Metro's annual back-to-school traffic safety demonstration at the intersection of Maryland Parkway and Silverado Ranch Boulevard.

Just one thing was missing: the flashing warning lights. They never lit up. And Helen Lawhon, Metro's crossing guard coordinator, was furious.

"It's not like I just called this morning; this was supposed to be set up two weeks ago," a visibly upset Lawhon said. "It's hot, the kids are out here looking great, and I've got nothin'."

Lawhon angrily punched in numbers on her cell phone, attempting to reach someone at Clark County's traffic engineering division, which is responsible for turning on the lights.

Herb Arnold, the county's chief traffic engineer, was in a meeting. So was anyone else who might have been able to help.

"I'm not very happy," Lawhon said, as cars whizzed through the intersection.

By the next day, the plot had thickened.

Arnold said the lights had been switched on and were flashing away - a quarter mile north at Maryland Parkway and Richmar Avenue, closer to Gehring Elementary School. Lawhon had agreed to move the press conference to that intersection, Arnold said.

"We turned those flashers on," Arnold said. "They went to the wrong location."

Not so, said Lawhon, who has organized the annual safety event for 15 years. The unblinking press conference was held at the correct location.

It isn't the first time school zone warning lights haven't worked as planned in the county and, even if the incident stemmed from simple miscommunication, some parents said it illuminates the hassle and red tape that often accompanies a basic request to enhance student safety.

Parents at Cannon Middle School have fought to have the lights activated on days when students leave campus early after midterm and final exams. At the end of the school year in June, Cannon parents used homemade signs to slow down traffic. Principal Elmer Manzanares escorted students safely across the intersection of Euclid Avenue and Russell Road.

Arnold said he's still waiting to hear whether his request for a $50,000 upgrade of the county's automated traffic safety system has been approved. In the meantime, resetting signals at individual locations remains a herculean task.

Last year a coalition of parents, municipal agencies and the Clark County School District teamed up to address traffic safety issues. While originally led by parent activist Gina Greisen, the coalition has evolved into a program known as "Look Out Kids About," with School Police Chief Hector Garcia at the helm.

Scott Konnath, a parent and treasurer of the coalition, said ensuring warning lights operate correctly is one of the hot topics.

"There's been some talk about taking over the school signals with a new system that's more state of the art," Konnath said. "People get used to the lights being on at a certain time every day. We need to make sure that we don't create confusion for the drivers."