By Moses Leos III
The establishment of several new school zones in two Buda neighborhoods aims to ensure the safety of children walking to Elm Grove Elementary.
Those school zones, which encompass six streets in the Whispering Hollow and Elm Grove subdivisions, were officially established by a unanimous vote by the Buda City Council on Aug. 29.
“I posted on my neighborhood Facebook page after the amended ordinance passed. My neighbors were so excited and grateful for the new school zone,” Buda City Councilwoman Angela Kennedy said. “It will serve to help keep all of our kids safe on the way to school.”
The origin of the ordinance goes back to July. That’s when Hays CISD announced they were halting bus service to the Elm Grove, Whispering Hollow and Garlic Creek subdivisions. It was done as a result of sidewalk and trail improvements Buda completed with the Safe Routes to School (SRTS) grant.
Those improvements included the construction of the Garlic Creek trail and the Garlic Creek Pedestrian bridge.
However, with the routes no longer deemed hazardous, the neighborhoods couldn’t qualify for bus service. Neighborhoods within a two mile radius cannot get bus service, per the Texas Education Code policy, so long as walking routes to the school are not hazardous, based on TEA’s definition.
During that same month, Hays CISD began talks with Buda to implement the school zones. The number of single family residences adjacent to the school necessitated the additions.
Jack Irvin, Assistant Director of Transportation at Hays CISD, requested six streets have new school zones. Speed limits in the zones are lowered to 20 miles per hour, along with signs warning drivers against cell phone use.
However, after meeting with city staff, Irvin revised his plan. Both Wildcat Draw and Fresno Springs were removed. Irvin said the focus was on the highest trafficked areas, along with the main egress and ingress points.
Ensuring the area wasn’t inundated with school zones was also an issue.
“If you get too many school zones, motorists unfortunately ignore them as they don’t see them as a real need,” Irvin said. “We wanted to take care of kids, but not go to an extreme with every road in the subdivision.”
The measure was met with open arms by Kennedy. During the year, she worked with City Engineer Stanley Fees and City Manager Kenneth Williams to identify the high traffic areas in Whispering Hollow.
However, when the measure first went to council on Aug. 19, Kennedy petitioned to add Clear Springs Hollow and Rosemary Hollow. Those routes, Kennedy said, would be the shortest to Elm Grove from Whispering Hollow. A recently added crosswalk on Clear Springs Hollow was another reason Kennedy added that road.
It’s a relief for Kennedy, who noticed many parents walking their kids to school on the first day.
“We all know that it just takes one car and one kid in the wrong place to result in a tragedy,” she said. “People tend to rush and speed to get their kids to school on time. So implementing a school zone along the safe routes to school path just makes sense.”
