NewsOperation Safe Roads

Actions

Still no school zone outside of Robert Rice Elementary

Posted at 10:15 PM, Aug 31, 2022
and last updated 2022-09-01 07:43:46-04

GILBERT — Parents tell ABC15 they've been fighting to get a school speed zone in front of Robert Rice Elementary for almost two years.

The speed limit right now is still 45 miles per hour.

"It's infuriating. It makes us angry for our kids," said Sarah Fogleman, PTO President.

She said she sees people speeding in the area almost every day.

"It's almost daily that we see close calls," said PTO Vice President Jenna Bishop.

The PTO and other parents tell ABC15 they are fed up.

"We will have the art club make one and put it up," said one parent.

"This is an elementary school," said Bishop. "We've got cars full of families going in and out of the school."

Bishop has spent the last 22 months trying to get a school zone and signs put in place.

"I think there are a lot of stakeholders involved in the development of the road and the development of the area," said Bishop who thinks the school zone has gotten lost in the shuffle.

"Maybe our voices just aren't loud enough," said Bishop.

The school opened in 2020 and is part of the Chandler Unified School District, but the school has a Gilbert address and sits right on the corner of the two municipalities.

Gilbert town staff told ABC15 there were intermittent construction projects planned in the area that would lower the speed limit, but once the first project finished, there was a delay in the second.

We were told the town was planning to put 35-mile-per-hour school zone signs up as soon as possible, but they wouldn't give a specific timeline.

One week later, there are still no signs.

ABC15 reached back out to the town Wednesday and was told their traffic team is coordinating with Chandler on the placement of the signs, and the goal is to have them up in the next couple of weeks.

"I hesitate to base my hopes on that, only because I've been told that over and over the signs are coming," said Bishop.

ABC15 also asked Gilbert police if they'd be getting involved in the meantime.

The department said they've been made aware of the concerns and will now have an increased presence outside Robert Rice Elementary, cracking down on speeding drivers.