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KHS Traffic Problems

Navigating a short stretch of Middle Road, between Keokuk High School and the student parking lot, can be very difficult after school or during special events.

Principal Larry Frakes says parents and visitors pull their vehicles into areas where parking is prohibited and leave them for extended periods of time.

He told the city council, Thursday night, that it has reached the point where a student was recently struck by a vehicle while crossing the street.

“Fortunately, he only bumped his head and got a bruise and a bump,” says Frakes.  “He is fine, he is back in school and I think he even attended the game that night.”

Frakes says the Keokuk School District is willing to do whatever it takes to address the issue.  He says that includes adding signs, creating no parking zones or even setting up barricades.

Police Chief Dave Hinton says his department has been trying to deal with the traffic problem on an incremental basis.

He says an officer now blocks one exit from the student parking lot after school to funnel the vehicles in one direction.

Hinton says the curb along that parking lot, next to Middle Road, has also been repainted yellow to prevent parking in that area.

He says the next step is to paint a large crosswalk that would connect the High School’s U-Drive with the student parking lot.

The crosswalk would raise awareness of the need to be alert and could give a pedestrian a remedy if they are hit by a vehicle.

Public Works Director Mark Bousselot says placing a crosswalk in that location could require the school district to add some accessible ramps and remove landscaping.

The city council says it will take action once it receives a formal proposal from Hinton.

Jason Parrott is a former reporter at Tri States Public Radio.