Bill would raise speed limits in some of state’s school zones

By David McGrath Schwartz (contact), Cy Ryan (contact)

Saturday, Jan. 10, 2009 | 2 a.m.

Carson City — Some school zone speed limits would increase under a bill to be introduced in the upcoming Legislature.

The bill by Sen. Maurice Washington, R-Sparks, calls for speed limits to be raised to 20 mph in middle school zones and to 25 mph in high school zones.

The 15 mph speed limit would remain for elementary school zones.

In Clark County, all school zones have speed limits of 15 mph, which is in effect while students are arriving or leaving.

School crossings, which are the routes heavily traveled by students on their way to and from school, typically have 25 mph speed limits.

In addition to the higher speed limits, the bill, which Washington said was requested by a constituent, would define “children are present” — the phrase that appears on many school zone speed limit signs — as “one or more child occupying a crosswalk or road where a school zone or school crossing zone is designated” or “a student occupying a sidewalk or shoulder that provides unimpeded access to the adjacent road where a school zone or crossing zone is designated.”

Erin Breen, director of UNLV’s Safe Community Partnership, said the current definition of “children are present” is ambiguous.

“What happens when it’s ambiguous is police officers don’t enforce school zone speed limits,” she said. “If you don’t know the definition of ‘children are present,’ it’s tough to enforce.”

Breen, however, criticized any effort to raise speed limits in school zones.

Enacting the higher limits would mean “half of the kids hit in school zones will die that don’t die now,” Breen said, adding that middle school students are the group most at risk for school zone collisions.

“In a high school zone it might raise that fatality rate to 85 percent,” she said.

Washington, who said the bill is not intended to endanger children, is looking forward to hearing testimony, he said.

The bill is ready for introduction on Feb. 2, the first day of the Legislature.

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For those who want to better understand the state’s fiscal predicament but aren’t yet ready to wade into a 165-page report filled with statistical abstracts, state Controller Kim Wallin offers a bite-sized look at the past fiscal year.

The four-page “Popular Annual Financial Report” lays out the state’s finances over the past fiscal year, which ended June 30.

The news is, not surprisingly, bad.

Total revenue, including general and highway funds, was $7.26 billion, 1.8 percent less than the previous year. Spending, meanwhile, grew by 4.55 percent, to $7.48 billion.

Transportation spending dropped by 15 percent from the previous fiscal year. Spending on unemployment benefits, meanwhile, grew by 48 percent.

The report is available at www.controller.nv.gov/.

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An Elko woman has been named executive director of Nevada Humanities.

Christina Barr, program outreach coordinator at the Western Folklife Center in Elko, will take over Thursday, succeeding Judith Winzeler, who is retiring after 24 years in the job.

Nevada Humanities has offices in Reno and Las Vegas. The executive director has traditionally been based in Reno.

Barr said the staff of Nevada Humanities is devoted to the cultural life of the state and having a positive effect on the lives of its residents.