Slow it down

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After a teenage girl broke her arm in a run-in with a car in front of Carson High School in January, transportation officials will consider this week slowing traffic during school hours.

The Carson City Regional Transportation Commission on Wednesday will discuss creating a 15 mph or a 25 mph school zone along the Carson High property on Saliman Road.

"We would recommend we go to 15 (mph) to be consistent with the rest of the schools," said John Flansberg, Carson City deputy city engineer.

Carson High is the only school in the district around which traffic isn't held to the 15 mph limit.

The road's 25 mph speed limit had been left intact in front of the school because it was thought the older students know how to cross the street safely. Carson City School District officials concede, however, the teenagers often dart into traffic without looking.

The proposal up for discussion would actually hike the speed limit on Saliman Road from 25 to 35 mph, while creating a school zone in front of the high school and drawing more attention to other schools and school zones in the area.

Along with the new signs in front of the high school, Carson City engineering staffers also recommend replacing the ordinary pole-mounted school zone signs in front of Fremont Elementary, about a mile from the high school, with a flashing overhead sign.

The changes would be lumped in with the commission's 2005 street overlay project, an $800,000 resurfacing of Saliman Road from Long Street to south of Fairview Drive. The 1.5-mile project is scheduled for completion this summer.

n Contact reporter Cory McConnell at cmcconnell@nevadaappeal.com