After the Alameda Sun went to press Tuesday, parents rallied at City Hall drawing attention to that, according to the group, since the start of the school year on Aug. 19, five children have been hit by cars on their way to school in Alameda. The “Alameda School Zone Safety Rally” was expected to take place just before the City Council meeting Nov. 5.

According to a statement from the Love Elementary School PTA, more than “225,000 kids attend school in Alameda, relying on city streets to get to and from school, and yet our city has dismal and sometimes nonexistent signage and traffic enforcement in these areas.”

The Love Elementary PTA joined with other schools, PTAs and student advocates from across the Island for the rally. The group intended to speak to the Council and city staff, “so that these safety issues are addressed immediately to make our streets safe for students and to prevent further accidents.”

Apparently, the uptick in pedestrian accidents is part of a national trend. According to a report released by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration last week, more pedestrians and cyclists were killed in the U.S. than in any year since 1990. Between 2008 and 2017 pedestrian traffic deaths increased by 35 percent. In America, there is one crash-related pedestrian death every 1.5 hours.

“Our roads lack flashing signs around schools, and there is no school-hours reduction in speed, like in most cities,” stated Love PTA. “Experts increasingly say the speed around our schools should be 15 miles per hour, as was recently adopted in Sacramento.” 

A national study found that at speeds in excess of 21 mph, the risk of serious or fatal injuries doubles for children compared to less than 20 mph.

To join this effort write to president@lovepta.org.