CHP is out in force in order to keep school kids safe.

By Mary O’KEEFE

Back to school in Crescenta Valley means bumper-to-bumper traffic at school drop zones, kids appearing from nowhere to run across streets at every angle, creative parking and 16-point U-turns in the middle of the road. It is this behavior that prompted California Highway Patrol officers to be out in force this week as they “educate” and remind drivers how to start the school year safely.

CHP had two motorcycle officers, two patrol units, several volunteers and senior officers in the areas of Crescenta Valley High School and La Crescenta Elementary School on the first day of school.

“Our main purpose is to make our presence known and to educate people on what they should be doing,” said CHP Officer Phil Cooper.

He added that he knows it is difficult to come back from the summer schedule and people don’t realize how much traffic they will be facing.

“We are also finding a lot of people are from out of the area,” he said. “They need to familiarize themselves with the schools.”

Officer Mike Ulloa and Cooper were on Prospect Avenue on Wednesday morning. When they saw drivers making small traffic violations, they would wave them over and give them educational material.

Lt. Todd Workman is back at the Altadena CHP office. In the past, he had been a public information officer stationed there and he knows the area well. He was at CVHS the first day of school.

“We want to make sure we are out here and consistent,” Workman said.

The purpose of CHP was not to give out citations on the first day of school but to educate parents and student drivers. To help parents be prepared for traffic issues, they should make certain they are aware of the traffic rules near their child’s school and allow enough time to get their children to class.

During the first few days of school, everyone is getting used to the schedules and the traffic patterns; however, as the year progresses, many times parents, and student drivers, give themselves less and less time to get to class. This is when some take short cuts and driving habits change; for example, students jump out of their parents’ cars as they travel north on Rosemont Avenue to beat the bell at Rosemont Middle School. Other offenders, after dropping off their child at CVHS at Prospect and Glenwood avenues, decide instead of continuing on the path of the road to make a U-turn, causing traffic to back up to La Crescenta Avenue.

Another issue at CVHS is the crosswalks at Prospect and Glenwood avenues.

They are at an angle and students will cut across the middle of the street to get to and from the high school.

“And one student will walk across at a time, causing the cars to back up, then another student crosses instead of them walking in groups,” Cooper said.

For years there has been talk of getting a crossing guard for the crosswalks. It is not just high school students who use them but grade school children from nearby La Crescenta Elementary. The requests and traffic studies have not proven a need for a crossing guard.

However, it is a safety concern for both Cooper and CVHS Principal Linda Junge.

On Wednesday morning, CHP officers did get a sample of what traffic was like at CVHS and La Crescenta Elementary School. After only a few minutes of the school morning rush, there was a small traffic collision. A driver had pulled the vehicle over to the curb to drop off a student and was facing south on Glenwood Avenue. After the student got out of the vehicle, the driver pulled out into the path of another vehicle traveling south on Glenwood.

CHP wants to prevent repeats of these types of incidents and encourages people to call if they have concerns.

“We want to remind people they can call our office with any traffic issue,” said Officer Bejar. “Just call our office.” The Altadena CHP office phone number is (818) 296-8100.

  Mary Okeefe