Editor's Notebook

For Safety's Sake: Let's All Take a Hand in Monitoring School Zones

Momentum has been building toward creating less hazardous conditions for children; we need to keep that fire lit.

I was driving west on Wisconsin Avenue last week at about 3:20 in the afternoon when something happened that stuck with me. As I approached the corner at Glenview Avenue, there was a county bus stopped at the curb. I had a green light, so I proceeded past it in the main traffic lane, slowing a bit for caution. Just as I was passing, a school crossing guard took a step out from in front of the bus, waving his handheld stop sign. I couldn't even begin to stop, so I swerved a bit away from him and kept going, while he quickly retreated to the cover of the bus. I didn't really come close to hitting him, but I was, for a moment, shocked and appalled with myself. I thought, "What have I done? I failed to stop for a crossing guard! I must be one …

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McKinley Mom Drives Effective School Zone Safety Program

Led by parent pediatrician and an involved alderman, school has developed a comprehensive community approach.

An accident Nov. 7 near Longfellow Middle School that left a student with a serious leg fracture prompted calls for a city and School District review of safety. On top of a minor accident in front of Eisenhower Elementary last spring, it seemed more needed to be done to protect Tosa's schoolchildren. Sarah Lerand, a McKinley Elementary School parent, didn't wait for the worst to happen. She could see it coming and, beginning a year and a half ago, decided to do something about it. "After talking to some people in my neighborhood association, it was clear there was a lot of concern," Lerand said. "We got the city's attention. We came with a petition with more than 300 names." McKinley School is a building beset with double traffic trouble. …

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Injury to Student Prompts Call for School Zone Safety Review

Longfellow seventh-grader suffered broken leg when driver passed car stopped for crossing guard.

Ald. Bobby Pantuso called Wednesday for a review of school zone safety after an accident Monday morning that left a Longfellow Middle School student with a broken leg. A school crossing guard was in position just after 7:30 a.m. on Wauwatosa Avenue at West Wright Street with a handheld stop sign and had stopped one southbound car while the 12-year-old boy was crossing. Another southbound driver failed to see the crossing guard and passed the stopped car on the right, striking the boy, according to Wauwatosa police. The driver, a 55-year-old woman, told police she thought the car was stopped to make a left turn. She said she drove that route nearly every day and was aware that it is a school zone. Another driver going south behind her said …

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