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ROY — A crosswalk in front of Roy Elementary School will soon get a significant upgrade. Parents like Katie Simpson pushed for the change after a 70-year-old crossing guard was struck by a car last September.
"No kid should have to see that," Simpson said, adding that her two children saw their crossing guard, injured in the street. "We don't want to have any more accidents. We don't want to have any more pedestrians hit, children hit, you know. We don't want to see that happen here."
The morning after the accident, several parents and their children picketed in front of the school, urging drivers to slow down, and asking UDOT to improve the crossing. Simpson says the group that organized through a Facebook page later took their grievances to the Roy City Council, which contacted UDOT.
"This isn't the response we do at every crossing," UDOT Spokesman Vic Saunders said. "In most cases, the typical flashing beacons at a pedestrian crossing near a school is sufficient."
After studying traffic in the area, Saunder said engineers concluded visibility was especially compromised for drivers heading east as the sun rises and more measures were necessary. This spring, UDOT will install what's called a high-intensity activated crosswalk, or HAWK.
"It begins to flash to warn people that the crosswalk is about to turn red, and they'll have to stop," Saunders explained. "After it flashes for a moment, giving everybody that warning, the lights go solid red, telling everyone stop."
The crossing could cost up to $300,000, depending on the needs for the specific area, Saunders added. Simpson said knowing that it's on the way brings some relief and peace of mind when it comes to her kids in kindergarten and sixth grade at Roy Elementary.
"It makes you feel good," Simpson said. "To think that when you want a change to make that you can, that your community can get together and you can make those changes."
