Alexandria resident Kelly Ann Perry addressed the Alexandria City Council Thursday with concern regarding the safety of an intersection at Campbell County Middle School after a student was hit by a car last week.
“I’m just very concerned, and after seeing that and witnessing that it really impacted me, it affected me, and I’m sure I’m not the only person that’s feeling that way,” Perry said.
Perry said she witnessed the aftermath of the accident on Dec. 1 and wanted to share some of her ideas with the council on improving safety. Perry’s ideas included having the school resource officer educate the students who walk to and from school on safety, and students should be encouraged not to use the intersection where the student was struck.
“I saw the car; that was horrifying, and now’s a good time for educational programs,” Alexandria Council Member Kyle Sparks said. “I think it’s probably better to do it with the school, but I think now’s the time to talk about those things where you can see what happened, and it’s fresh in everyone’s mind.”
Alexandria Police Chief Lucas Cooper said he couldn’t share much about the incident because it’s still being investigated. Sparks shared during the meeting that the student was out of the hospital.
Cooper said the city has talked to the state about improving the crosswalk as it is a state-owned road.
“The issue is it’s a state highway, and so all we can do is make recommendations, and we did have them go out earlier this week,” Cooper said. “They did check the timing of that intersection, the lights, and the crosswalk, and everything is timed up the way they’re supposed to be working.”
Alexandria Mayor Andy Schabell thanked Perry for speaking at the meeting and bringing a solution with her. He said that stretch of road along U.S. 27 is tricky because it has Bishop Brossart High School, St. Mary’s School and Campbell County Middle School traffic.
“You’re looking at three schools starting at the same time, a state highway we have no control over, and we have no control over the school board,” Schabell said.
Cooper said the school controls the traffic lights at the northern intersection, not the police department. He said the purpose of the school resource officer is the safety of the students, and having them stationed at the same location every day at the same time was not the smartest.
“I can assure you that when our officers are not tied up on calls at that time of the morning, that area is their top priority to be looking for speeders or being seen to try and get people to slow down,” he said.
Alexandria Council Member Tom Baldridge told Perry he would help her get into contact with the Campbell County Board of Education for further discussion of ideas.
