Solutions to traffic congestion at several intersections in town, especially near the school buildings during school drop-off and pick up times were presented by Mayor Nathan See to school officials and School Board members.
The mayor said he has met with officials from the Arkansas Department of Transportation and several solutions have been considered in addition to a roundabout at both of the Arkansas Highway 94/Hwy. 72 intersections and at the dog-leg intersection of Arkansas Hwy. 94, Weston Street and Arkansas Hwy. 265 (Hayden Road).
See said he and other officials from the area have been encouraging ArDOT officials to look at improving the east to west thoroughfare of Arkansas Highway 72 to a four-lane.
"They need to expedite that project... you need to be an advocate and be loud and be heard and let them know," he said.
He said it was decided that the southern intersection of Hwys. 72/94 (Lee Town Road/Curtis Avenue/Slack Street) will become a lit intersection instead of a roundabout.
"There will be a traffic study next week and in February, we will have a cost estimate to go back to ArDOT and come back in March with more information," See said.
He said several options have been considered about the dog-leg intersection of Weston Street, Pickens Road and Hayden Road and a roundabout is the safest option. He said there is a new concept -- a "peanut roundabout" that will move Weston Street closer to the Junior High, align Weston with Hayden Road and use shared money.
"We (the city) will take over Hwy. 265 as a city street instead of it being a state-maintained road. That would be our cost," See said.
"We know it can't stay the way it is," said board member John Dye. "If those townhomes are done next school year, that will add to the traffic."
School superintendent Keith Martin noted that during the first month of school he noticed that many students were not getting to school on time and said it was because traffic was backed up with the closure of It'll Do Road.
"We are so dependant on the roads we have and the arteries," he said.
Martin said the traffic, the increased population, inflation will all change what the school officials can do.
"With buses, we will have to adjust routes, add routes. I can't tell you how thankful I am for sidewalks," Martin said. "We may have to have walk zones where it's not possible to provide bus service.
"It may be that the children from these townhomes may have to walk over to junior high to catch a bus," he said.
"Are we worried?" asked board president Mindy Cawthon.
"No," See said. "That's why we added the RFB lights -- so long as they use them.
"And we're adding SROs (school resource officers), and will be adding to the cross walk fleet," Martin said. He said it costs about $5,500 a year to hire a cross walk attendant and that's "cheaper than a school bus."
"Can we use volunteers?" Cawthon asked.
"No," Martin said, explaining that reliability is essential for the positions.
He said school teachers and personnel work on training the students in walking and bicycle safety.