In Washoe county, spring break has come to a close and now school doors are back open.
Not only are school districts reminding everyone to take it slow in school zones, but the Washoe County School District and the City of Reno are taking action to ensure all students arrive and leave school safely.
Thanks to a $40,000 grant from the American Rescue Plan Act, the City of Reno has partnered with the school district to install light beacons at several school zones in the community, including on Vassar Street.
"It's a big priority for a lot of folks throughout our community, but when we were looking at the numbers within the city, Rita Cannan along with Veterans Memorial Elementary were two of the schools that had the highest incident rates," said Miguel Martinez, councilmember for the City of Reno.
Between Veteran's Memorial Elementary, Vaughn Middle, and Wooster High School, Vassar Street is a busy road used by both drivers and pedestrians.
"Vassar has three neighborhood schools, so we need to make sure that we're paying attention," said Jennifer Iveson, coordinator for Safe Routes to School. "There's a lot of pedestrians in this area, we need to make sure that drivers slow down and pay attention to what's going on around them."
The school district says there have been 13 student-involved crashes this school year.
Each were on the students' routes home from school. Six of those crashes happened in a school zone.
The school district hopes these lights will make drivers more cautious and prevent any more crashes.
"Students are definitely not paying attention of what's going on. Drivers are responsible for making sure that they are watching out for students in the area," says Iveson.
It's important to remember not all schools have light beacons so when you're driving be sure to keep a sharp eye out for school zone signs and drive 15 miles per hour during the required time frame.
