An increased presence of police should be evident Monday when Evanston students return to school for a new year.
In fact, for the next two weeks, police officers plan to be around to monitor pedestrian, bicycle, and vehicle traffic to ensure the safety of the community’s students.
They recommend that drivers get off their phones, even if engaged in legal hands-free communication, when approaching a marked school crossing zone between 7 a.m. and 4 p.m. on school days.
They should also yield to any children or adults crossing in a crosswalk area and to reduce vehicle speed to 20 miles per hour, or risk a ticket with heavy fines plus court costs.
As for pedestrians, they should be careful to cross only at designated intersections and crosswalks and to avoid setting off the curb into the path of a moving vehicle, police advise.
Lack of presence
What a lack of presence. I was out this morning and did not see one officer along any school route. What I did see was the still ever present speeding driver on his or her cell phone speeding through school areas. The children are still at risk to these unaware drivers. However, at the end of the school day we did see one or two squad cars laying in wait,but it seems that's all they were doing.