Manara-CS090831
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Ken Griffin - Manara School Zone
From: "D Nicholson" <dknicholson@att.net>
To: "'Ken Griffin'" <kgriffin@ci.coppell.tx.us>
Date: 8/31/2009 4:02 PM
Subject: Manara School Zone
Mr. Griffin:
Thank you for the quick response. I will pass this along to some of my neighbors so that we can get
the word out that you are working on the issue.
David Nicholson
From: Ken Griffin [mailto:kgriffin@ci.coppell.tx.us]
Sent: Monday, August 31, 2009 3:32 PM
To: D Nicholson
Cc: Clay Phillips; Mario Canizares; Roy Osborne
Subject: Re: Manara School Zone
Mr. Nicholson
Thank you for your observations concerning the school zone on Heartz. I was on site last Monday and
noticed the long school time. I drove through several other school zones which you correctly noted are
only for one hour. I have an agenda item already scheduled for the September 22, 2009 City Council
meeting to adjust the morning time to 7:15 am through 8:15 am. We will also adjust the afternoon time
to be only one hour.
You are correct that because the school lets out early every Friday, we had to list another time on the
sign that is not required on other school zone signs. The extra line caused the letter size to be smaller
than those on other signs. There will be flashers installed on the signs as soon as they are delivered.
They were ordered once Council approved the school zone. We use solar powered flashers and there is
a lead time on delivery.
The times that I or my staff have been onsite we have not noticed anyone stopping on Heartz to let kids
out. However, if you should notice anything that would provide for a safer driving environment in this
location or any other place in Coppell, please don't hesitate to contact me.
Again, thank you for your comments.
Ken Griffin, P. E., CFM
Director of Engineering & Public Works
972-304-3686
kgriffin@ci.coppell.tx.us
>>> "D Nicholson" <dknicholson@att.net> 8/31/2009 10:24 AM >>>
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I travel Heartz Road every day from my neighborhood on the north side of Sandy Lake Road to the post office;
sometimes twice a day. I offer a couple of observations regarding thenewly installed Manara Academy school
zone signs:
1. The school zone times are two hours in the morning and two hours in the afternoon. That's four hours per
day. Why so much time compared to other schoolzones?
2. The print of thetimeon the signseems smaller than normal so that anyone who doesn't travel Heartz
enough to be familiar with the hours will not likely be able to read them without slowing to a crawl. Maybe it's
just the fact that there is additional information with the different Friday hours. This might pose a safety hazard if
a following car isn't expecting the sudden slow-down. Obviously safe driving habits would dictate proper
following distance but we all know reality.
I hope you find this constructive input rather than simple complaining but the truth is if this is going to work long-
term, the school zone should be set-up like the other school zones in Coppell. That includes flashing lights. We
are conditioned(at leastin Coppell) to react and slow down when we see the flashing lights versus being
proactive sign readers. That's not the way safe drivers should be but nonetheless it's reality.
Maybe one way to put my observation to the test is to have an unmarked car(inconspicuously)parked on the
southbound side and survey vehicle speeds. You might be surprised at the number of cars that don't slow
down. You might also observe parents dropping-off theirschoolkids on Heartz which really flies in the face of
the neighbors who knew it would be a problem.
David Nicholson
143 Allencrest Lane
Coppell, TX 75019
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