On Wednesday, Sept. 3, hundreds of Mill Creek area children will return to school. And the first week might be a tad chaotic around the schools.
“The first couple of days of school there’s a lot of confusion,” Mill Creek Police Chief Bob Crannell said. “Kids are confused about where they have to go, parents are worried about getting their kids to school on time or where to park. It’s a little more chaotic, but it settles down after the first couple of days.”
Mill Creek police aren’t planning any special patrols for the return to school. Instead, the department regularly has two officers patrol the areas around the three schools within the city limits: Mill Creek Elementary School, Heatherwood Middle School, and Jackson High School.
“We don’t have any more people around the schools whether it’s the first day, Nov. 12 or the last day,” Crannell said. “We make it a priority that (officers) are in the school zones every day.”
Officers will be looking for various traffic offenses, such as drivers who exceed the 20 mph school zone speed limit, and those who don’t stop properly at crosswalks. New, higher fines for school zone traffic infractions, such as speeding and passing a school bus, went into effect statewide on July 1 (see sidebar).
But traffic enforcement is only one part of an officer’s duty.
Crannell said officers are instructed to look for children who might be lost or confused walking to or from school, especially Mill Creek Elementary students. They are also told to make sure children are staying on sidewalks and not walking or playing in streets.
“The basic mission is to make sure people obey the laws and the kids get to schools safely,” Crannell said.
Snohomish County Sheriff’s Deputies have been instructed to not only look out for driving infractions, but to look for seat belt violators, improperly secured child safety seats, and underage smokers and loiterers, according to department spokesperson Jan Jorgenson.
Contrary to teenage driver stereotypes, Crannell said the high school students who drive to and from Jackson haven’t caused any safety problems. Part of that reason, Crannell said, might be the presence of a resource officer at the school who reminds them to practice safe driving habits.
“We have more problems with adults,” Crannell said.
As for safety tips for parents and children dealing with the back to school rush, Mill Creek police and the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office have the following safety tips:
• Allow more time to drive to school or have children leave earlier from home if they’re walking. Commuters should allow more time to leave their neighborhoods if they live near or pass through a school zone on their way to work.
• If possible, parents should walk to school with their children on the first day. If that isn’t possible, organize a group of students to walk together or with a parent.
• Children walking to and from school should use the most visible routes, such as street sidewalks. Cutting through wooded areas is not recommended.
• Children who ride bicycles to school should wear reflective clothing, especially as the days get shorter.
• Younger children should be reminded not to get into a vehicle driven by someone they do not know.
• Children should be reminded to always use crosswalks when crossing a street, and drivers need to be aware in case a child enters a street from between two parked cars.
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