Manatee County school officials are taking extra steps to ensure safety at one Bradenton school.
- Manatee Elementary on busy Manatee Avenue
- No school zone designated
- Crews installing signs this week
Crews have installed new school crossing signs on a busy stretch of Manatee Avenue near Manatee Elementary. The speed limit along the roadway is 35 miles per hour.
Some drivers have been ticketed going as fast as 60 mph. School zones typically limit traffic to 15-20 mph.
According to school officials, an estimated 35,000 cars travel the roadway daily. However, the area in question is not a designated school zone, which parents say puts young children at risk.
This has been a point of contention between parents and the school district for several months.
So far, the only compromise has been signs advising drivers to slow down, which are being installed this week.
By next week, police and the school district will be able to monitor how effective the signs are at slowing down traffic.
"I think it’s about time because I've sat there at the light and I've seen people that don’t know whether to slow down or speed up or what," said parent Beverly Bell. "So I think it’s about time we got it."
There are multiple schools on Manatee Avenue and none of them have designated school zones. But school officials said Manatee Elementary is the only campus where a lack of a school zone has created a problem.