It’s common for students at Wasatch High School to head off campus for lunch. But many of them cross Main Street, a four-lane highway, to get their meals.
That proved dangerous last September. A 14-year-old girl was flown to the hospital in critical condition after an SUV hit her near the intersection of Main Street and 800 South.
For a while, crossing guards were stationed there at lunchtime, but there’s no legal requirement for them to be there. Heber Police did not initially plan to assign crossing guards for that intersection this school year.
Wasatch County Board of Education member Kim Dickerson said district leaders learned about the change from KPCW’s reporting.
“We were made aware that we didn’t have crossing guards on Main Street, and so we wanted to look into it further,” she said. “So, we asked the school district leaders to look into it and see why we didn’t have crossing guards here.”
She said district Superintendent Paul Sweat reached out to Heber Police to figure out a solution. Starting Monday, Sept. 9, crossing guards began duty to help students navigate the traffic safely.
Even though it’s not typical for high school students to have crossing guards, Dickerson said the Main Street spot requires extra safety measures.
“Student safety is a priority for us, and Main Street is a unique situation, because we have a state highway that runs right through the center of our community,” she said.
She said she hopes to have lunchtime crossing guards at the spot permanently.
Police Chief Parker Sever said thousands of cars and trucks traverse the highway every day.
“I believe it’s about 60,000 to 70,000 vehicles [that] travel down Main Street each day,” he said.
Going forward, crossing guards will be on duty at the spot every day during the high school’s lunch period.
Amanda Edwards, one of Wasatch High School's vice principals, said the school wants to do all it can to keep students safe.
“It’s hard to get cars to stop for kids if there’s not added bells and whistles,” she said. “So, it’s been really great to be able to put the student safety first.”
And Sever said more plans are in the works to improve pedestrian safety on Main Street.
“We’ve ordered some light-up signs and light-up cones and just some other things to get drivers’ attention, to slow them down and hopefully keep our crossing guards safe as well as the students,” he said.
He asked drivers to respect crossing guards and students and wait for everyone to get back on the sidewalks before resuming driving.
“Drive like they were your kids that are out on the road,” he said.
A team of close to 30 crossing guards helps keep students safe around Wasatch County.
