No crossing guards on Heber’s Main Street after students hit by cars last fall

One car hit a teen on Main Street, and the other student was injured on 1200 South.

After the Main Street crash, crossing guards kept watch during the lunch hour that year.

But there’s no legal requirement for them to be there.

Heber Police Chief Parker Sever said numerous factors determine where crossing guards are stationed.

“We’re only required to have them for elementary schools,” he said. “It’s optional for other grade levels.”

To have a crossing guard on duty at any given spot, at least 10 children must use the crossing.

A minimum of 500 cars must use the road every day, and there has to be enough space for cars to stop for the crossing guard.

No crossing guard will be assigned if there’s a marked crosswalk close by.

This school year, crossing guards are stationed near all the district’s elementary schools, plus Timpanogos Middle School and Rocky Mountain Middle School. Heber Police removed the Main Street assignment this school year.

Sever said it’s not typical to have a crossing guard for high school students. Plus, he said, crossing guards are usually assigned just for the beginning and end of the school day, not the lunch hour.

Sever also said a Main Street crossing guard would mean added liability for the police department.

“It’s not a required location, and so as soon as we put somebody there, we do incur more liability, because if something happens, then they could blame our crossing guard or whatnot,” he said.

Heber City

He said parents and guardians are responsible for ensuring their children know how to safely cross the street: make sure the pedestrian lights are blinking, look both ways and wait if something doesn’t seem right.

“It’s very common for kids to be like, ‘Oh, I’m a pedestrian, I have the right of way.’ The problem with that line of thinking is they’re always going to lose,” he said. “A car versus a pedestrian – the pedestrian is never going to win that battle. And so they have to be aware of the dangers that are there.”

Sever also noted Main Street is a state highway, so the Utah Department of Transportation determines where to install stop lights, crosswalks and other safety features.

When an SUV hit the 14-year-old girl on Main Street at 800 South last fall, UDOT was a day out from finishing the installation of a new crossing signal with flashing lights.

And the city fast-tracked a planned traffic light at 1200 South and 500 East after a 14-year-old boy was hit in the crosswalk while the pedestrian lights were flashing.

Sever said the obligation is to provide a safe route for pedestrians, not necessarily a convenient route.

Wasatch County School District spokesperson Kirsta Albert said the district’s elementary schools educate students about walking and biking safely at the start of every school year.