Speeding signs expected for Manatee Elementary by end of week

After waiting for proper permits and being delayed Tuesday by rain, city officials expect “driver feedback signs” to be installed outside Manatee Elementary School by the end of the week.

The signs were originally slated to be in place on State Road 64 in front of the Bradenton Elementary School by the end of April, bringing compromise to those at the school community who wanted that stretch of road to be a designated school zone, forcing drivers to slow down. The speed limit through the stretch is 35 mph, but Bradenton Police Department records show drivers have been ticketed for traveling as fast at 60 mph through the stretch.

The safety of students who have to cross of the road is a concerns for parents and school officials. More than 75 students travel across the street each day, and the process involves half a dozen staff members make sure everybody stays safe.

“It is very frustrating,” principal Deb Houston said of the delay. “We’ll continue to do what we do until it happens.”

Designated school zones are either 15 mph or 20 mph. None of the district schools that are on State Road 64 have designated school zones, but district officials said Manatee Elementary is the only school where the lack of a school zone has become an issue.

The driver feedback signs were reached as a way of compromise. Once the signs are installed, the school district and the police department will be able to monitor whether the signs are effective at slowing cars down.

After starting the work for the signs in April, the city had to stop the work and wait for the proper permits from the Florida Department of Transportation, since the signs are being installed on FDOT’s right of way. The signed permits were returned to the city on Thursday, said Jim McLellan, the city’s director of public works and utilities.

“We’ll be back on them this week,” McLellan said, adding the signs should be done by the end of the week, weather permitting.

For Kevin Ciferno, a grandfather who often picks up his grandson after school, driver feedback signs still aren’t the best solution.

“The idea of slowing down is so you have time to react if something happens. If you are going 20, you have time to react. Going 35, you don’t have as much time. It’s mathematical,” he said.

This story was originally published May 17, 2016 at 3:38 PM with the headline "Speeding signs expected for Manatee Elementary by end of week."