NORWICH – With students and parents across the county preparing for Wednesday and the first day of school, the Norwich City Police Department – as it does every year – is making student safety a priority. Specifically, the city’s PD will focus on students’ travels to and from their respective schools.
“The Norwich City School District has over 2,500 students, additionally Holy Family and Valley Heights Academy have hundreds more,” said Norwich City Police Chief Joseph Angelino. “Add to those numbers the teachers and staff who are all converging on the same locations at nearly the same time and there could be problems unless people are alert and patient.”
As such, Angelino noted some changes in regards to school crossing guards for the 2013-2014 school year, namely the posting of a crossing guard at Norwich High School in the area of the Davis Street walkway (near the high school parking lot exit); another at Beebe Avenue and South Broad Street (assisting pedestrians going to and from Perry Browne Elementary School); and the discontinuation of a crossing guard post on South Broad and Hale streets.
The city PD, added Chief Angelino, would also like to remind parents planning to drive their children to school for drop-off to use designated drop-off areas.
“If one person stops in a roadway, even briefly, the ripple effect travels quickly and causes problems,” noted Angelino. “Each school building has a designated drop-off area.”
A survey conducted during the spring of 2013 estimated the number of cars dropping children off at both of the district’s elementary schools, the results indicating that hundreds were making their way to Perry Browne and Stanford-Gibson each morning. Added Angelino, “At the same time, only a handful of children were seen walking to these schools. On a particular day rainy day, no children were seen walking to the school.”
Parents driving their children to school should plan a daily route keeping in mind there will most likely be delays due to the high volume of traffic, both vehicular and foot.
“The morning start of school is always busy,” stated Angelino. “During the winter months the morning start of school can take place with little daylight. People need to be patient and plan ahead.”