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OGDEN – A judge has ordered the temporary removal of a barrier blocking a roadway between two Weber County schools and a neighboring business while the case is ongoing.
The Weber School District has been at odds with the owners of a neighboring Intermountain Farmers Association store in Ogden since April. The roadway was designated as a public easement, but it is on land owned by IFA.
Store owners and the district have not been able to agree on terms to keep access open for students, parents and buses.
However, a judge’s order this week gave the school the road access it wants – for now.
“We felt very strongly that this easement would allow us to divert some of that traffic over to the light that’s been established there and allow kids, and our buses to be able to safely turn out onto the road,” said Lane Findlay, a spokesman with the Weber School District.
Related:
Public easement barricade near 2 Weber schools draws safety concerns
Students going to and from Twin Rivers High School and the neighboring Weber Innovations Campus have to navigate a busy 12th Street each school day.Parents and the district have maintained all along that this issue is about student safety.
If drivers cannot access the road on IFA property, they have to enter and exit Two Rivers High School and the Weber Innovation Center from 12th Street.
The posted speed limit on 12th Street is 50 mph and fast-moving traffic has made students and parents question the safety of that access point.
However, a traffic light at the top of IFA’s parking lot would make it safer and easier to get to the school.
IFA put up the concrete barriers blocking access to the roadway in April, keeping traffic out of its’ parking lot.
“We felt there was a public access easement, on the property,” Findlay said. “The bottom line in all of it is keeping kids safe.”
Based on the judge’s order, the barrier must come down once the school district puts nearly $100,000 in escrow held by the court. After that happens, IFA has 48 hours to remove the barriers.
The school district said it will move as quickly as possible and it hopes to have access to the road next week.
