Published Thursday, July 29, 2010
Crosswalks, handicapped parking studied at schools in Newnan
The Newnan Times-Herald
Newnan Council has agreed to study whether Atkinson Elementary School has need for new crosswalks and handicapped parking for the safety of its students.
The request has spurred the Newnan City Council to agree to look at every school in the city.
The issue was brought to Tuesday evening's council meeting by Angela Pylant, a resident of 17 Nimmons St., with the blessing of Atkinson principal Melissa Wimbish.
Pylant expressed a desire to see the city work with the Coweta County School System to solve this issue.
Pylant's concerns are that there is no crosswalk within the immediate school zone; the school has no designated handicapped parking space; on the north side of Nimmons Street, the sidewalk ends abruptly "negating access to cross at the nearest marked crosswalk," which is at either end of Nimmons Street; and there is no uniformed or designated crossing guard in the Atkinson school zone.
"Presently all students entering the front of the school building from the west have no crosswalk and must cross either between parked cars/ buses or must cross in front of or through the student drop-off/pick-up car line," said Pylant in her correspondence to council.
These are major concerns, she says, because of the consistent speeding that takes place on Nimmons Street.
Pylant presented council with a packet of information containing letters from parents and Nimmons Street residents, as well as information about the present situation and the proposed additions.
Mayor Keith Brady referred the issue to the city's engineering department and the police department for further study.
"Let's see what can be done to achieve these goals if in fact they do meet certain criteria within the engineering department," said Brady.
Councilman Rhodes Shell asked that the city also take a look at every city school in this process.
In other meeting business:
* Council agreed to issue an invitation to bid for a safety cover for the new Lynch Park Pool. The cover would increase safety during the off-season and reduce maintenance efforts while minimizing staining of the plaster, according to Community Development Director Cleatus Phillips. The cover would likely cost between $12,000 and $15,000.
* City Engineer Michael Klahr agreed to study drainage issues occurring on Salbide Avenue after residents attended Tuesday's meeting to complain about flooding.
Klahr told residents that his department implemented changes on the street this week and that he would continue to monitor the situation, though he admitted that, since Salbide is one of the city's older streets, there are a number of issues affecting drainage.
One resident called the situation "a major safety issue."
