A recent incident involving a young student and a passing car has resulted in the Raymond City Council, Raymond Police Department and Raymond School District discussing various ways to make Commercial Street safer for students. While the student was unhurt, the incident raised the level of concern among all parties. The District requested permission to close that portion of Commercial Street that divides the two campuses, but the Council was concerned that such action would create other issues such as creating more traffic on Duryea Street and frustrating motorists who live near the school.

However, the Mayor has asked that the public works department and police department work with the district to provide alternate methods of increasing safety. Some suggestions included:

• Installing more signage, perhaps including a sign that details the fine associated with unsafe acts in a school zone
• Placing a stop sign at crosswalk
• Dropping the speed limit
• Installing a speed measuring device to inform motorists of their driving speed
• Seeking a grant for flashing lights to mark the crosswalk

The incident prompted the District to conduct a one-day count of the number of people crossing Commercial. On the day the count was conducted, over 1,300 crossings were made as children went to lunch, recess and various other activities. Additionally, there were over 300 cars that went up or down Commercial during that same 8.5 hour period of the study. The heavy pedestrian and vehicle traffic served to highlight the need for all parties to work together to ensure the safety of the students.