By Bob Strohm
bstrohm@wbcowqel.com

After meeting with the Crawford County Commissioners, engineer, and members of ODOT, the Wynford school district hopes to have come up with a solution for the Holmes-Center/County Road 330 intersection.

For now the school will expand the 20 mph school zone on to the east side of County Road 330 with the hopes that the slower speed limit during school hours will curtail the number of accidents at that intersection.

Wynford High School Principal Jeff Holbrook explained the decision.

“I think ODOT; obviously they have the data, that’s their job. I think it’s putting their best foot forward to ensure the safety of students,” Holbrook said. “At the end of the day that is what we are looking for. We are just looking for student safety.”

“The timeline, that is up to the county. I really have no idea on that I would like to have seen it done yesterday, but the reality is that it will probably going to be months, but you know it was an amicable resolution,” Holbrook continued.

Holbrook, along with Wynford Board of Education members Debbi Gifford and Steve Crall, as well as mothers with Wynford students Tavia Swain and Jaime Langston met with ODOT representatives Julie Cichello and Dawn Roxberry, Crawford Commissioners Doug Weisenauer, Jenny Vermillion, and Crawford County Engineer Mark Baker Tuesday afternoon. The group, originally seeking a traffic light at the intersection due to the number of accidents, were nixed by the ODOT representatives due to the numbers of accidents that could have been prevented with a light not reaching the required amount in comparison to the volume of traffic that the roads receive.

To help improve safety ODOT also recommended improvements on signage at the intersection which includes the extended school zone, a “side traffic does not stop” warning sign at the stop signs, as well as having heightened law enforcement in the area during peak times.

During the meeting the ODOT representatives explained to the group that they could have static lines for the school zone up as early as today, and that the school zone warning signs would be able to be in place pending Crawford County Commissioner approval.

Crawford County will be responsible for installing the new traffic signs.