Parents: Pedestrian Bridge Needed At Dangerous School Crosswalk In Lehi

LEHI, Utah – Concerned parents have asked the Utah Department of Transportation to build a pedestrian overpass at a busy school crosswalk in Lehi.

“I think it’s a big risk to have kids crossing here,” said parent Megan Sperry, whose children attend North Point Elementary. “People are just worried that someone’s going to get hurt or killed before anybody does anything about this.”

In order to get to the school, Sperry’s children must cross the intersection of 2100 North and 2300 West. The road at 2100 North is a divided, four-lane highway that serves as a main commuter route between I-15 and Redwood Road in Utah County.

“A lot of parents have seen a lot of scary stuff crossing this,” Sperry said. “I’ve seen a lot of scary stuff.”

“People are just worried that somebody is going to hurt or killed before anybody does anything about this” NEXT on @KSL5TV at 6pm, hear from parents in Lehi concerned about a school crosswalk on 2100 North. #KSLTV pic.twitter.com/WgtCreexD3

— Ladd Egan (@laddegan) August 30, 2018

Because of the danger, Sperry and other parents walk with their children even though they live just a short distance from the school.

“It’s just a busy, dangerous intersection and lots of kids cross here every single day,” she said.

The crossing guards at the intersection said the morning rush hour was especially dangerous with drivers in a hurry to get to work.

“My very first day I almost got hit three times,” said Alyssa Clegg, one of the two crossing guards.

Clegg said speeding was her top concern, along with drivers, “not really paying attention to either the crossing guards or the kids.”

Because of cars disobeying the 20-mile-per-hour school zone, she has installed tape on the sidewalk several feet from the roadway as a marker for kids to wait at, before stepping into the crosswalk.

“You know, honestly, I feel like one day they’re going to probably get hit,” she said.

Parents have posted on UDOT’s website about the problem, asking for a pedestrian bridge across 2100 North.

UDOT officials told KSL the department does not have any current plans to build an overpass, and that such a decision would be made in conjunction with Lehi City and the Alpine School District.

“We would want to make sure that if we made that type of investment—if that’s something that we determined would be wise—that it’s going to be there for the foreseeable future and that it would be providing a safe solution for decades to come,” said UDOT spokesperson John Gleason.

Alpine School District said with the rapid growth in the area, the addition of future schools could solve the problem.

“We’ll have schools north of here that could possibly take on this group of kids, who right now are having to cross 2100 North,” said school district spokesperson Kimberly Bird.

Already, one school was under construction on the north side of the highway near 2300 North and 3600 West. However, Bird said it was unclear what the boundaries will be once the school opens in August of 2019.

Until 2011, the district bused students across the highway to North Point Elementary but that service stopped once Lehi started providing crossing guards and UDOT installed appropriate signs establishing the school zone.

A sergeant with the Lehi Police Department visited the intersection with KSL as students walked home Thursday afternoon.

“It’s a pretty tricky intersection for them to (manage),” Sgt. Robert Marshall said of the crossing guards. “They’re getting traffic from every direction and they really have to be on their toes.”

Without a change to infrastructure, Sgt. Marshall said motorists can help improve safety right now by paying attention to the school zone.

“Slow down and watch for kids,” he said.