KENNEWICK, Wash. – Most Tri-Cities children will be returning to school next week and both the Kennewick Police Department and Kennewick School District want them to be safe on their ways to class.
Pasco School District will be the first to start letting children back to classes, starting Aug. 27. Then, the Kennewick School District opens it’s doors for students on Aug. 28. The Richland School District will have their students back on Aug. 29.
With a large amount of schools in the area, and with many new students beginning their education in Kennewick, KSD wants to get the word out about driving safely in school zones.
Scott Child, the School Safety Coordinator at KSD, reminds parents that flashing signs are in school zones for a reason.
“You’re going to see the lights that are flashing… that’s super important because we have so many kids and sometimes they can be unpredictable,” said Child.
According to its website, the Kennewick School District has 25 grade schools in its district and educates around 19,000 students.
The Kennewick Police Department also has shared information on driving safely in school zones ahead of the first days of school. Officer Sebastian Castilleja says he sees two types of violations all too often.
“We often see speeding as one of the traffic related issues… Secondary to speeding is pedestrian crossing violations. With school starting up soon, we just want to make sure that everyone’s obeying the school speed limit signs,” said Castilleja.
Officer Castilleja said that school zones are designed through science and testing, and that all posted signs should be strictly followed.
“We make it a point to make a presence at our schools. And if you’re stopped by a police officer in a school zone, we’re not very lenient when it comes to speeding in the schools,” said Castilleja.
