A school zone for Smithville high school has been approved by the Texas Department of Transportation and, barring complications, will be installed before the fall semester, according to Victor Vargas, assistant director of transportation operations for the agency.

“There are a few steps to go yet before construction begins,” Vargas said. “We will do a speed check that will let us know what the speed limit should be for the area, which will take about two months. Then we will need to see that an enforceable law is passed for that school zone.”

Smithville Mayor Mark Bunte was informed about the decision through a letter from Vargas in January.

“After four years of trying to get them to install a school zone for the high school, the state sent someone out to look at the area, which led the state to agree that our students do walk down the highway and that the convergence of FM 535, State Highway 95 and the high school entry and exit lanes could be dangerous,” Bunte said.

Bunte said the letter from TxDOT contained information on a field test performed by the Transportation Operations office at the high school on the afternoon of Jan. 5 that ran from 2:50-4 p.m. State observers noted that students walked along Hwy 95 and crossed a small bridge to neighborhoods north of the school and were also seen crossing the highway near a private driveway. The letter said no irregular traffic patterns were observed and no busses were seen entering or exiting SH 95.

For Bunte, parents and other concerned citizens, the fact that students were using the roadway was a given – their main concern had been the amount and speed of traffic that converged at the intersection at the beginning and ending of the school day. At that time, traffic heading north into Smithville along Hwy 95 is traveling at almost 60 miles per hour as it passes the student parking lot entrance to the high school. That stretch of highway is further complicated by traffic trying to get on Hwy 95 from FM 535, Bunte said.

“I will remain concerned about this intersection until the school zone is installed,” Bunte said. “It really is an accident waiting to happen.”

SISD superintendent Rock McNulty said he had also contacted TxDOT about the school zone as part of the Safe Routes to School grant with the city.

“This is great news. The safety of our students is always paramount and this is one more step in insuring that children can come and go safely from school,” McNulty said. “This is another example of the city and the schools working together for the well-being of our citizens.”

TxDOT said the school zone they are designing would be separate from an existing school zone on Hwy 95, which runs just north of the high school. Those warning signal lights coincide with the schedule at Brown Primary.

Vargas said the enforceable law for the school zone would be passed by the city through an ordinance or by the Transportation Commission through a minute order, but that would depend on whether the zone was in the city limits or not. Vargas said the state will send a package to the city with a strip map of the area and if the zone is in the city limits it would be up to the city to pass the law.

“If it’s outside the city limit, then we would provide the same information to the Transportation Commission for approval,” Vargas said. “It’s really a formality, but they would need to a make a law to make it enforceable.”