Police watch school crossings as kids return to class

Across Eastern Iowa, school is back in session. And while it's a fun new school year for kids, police have concerns.

Authorities say each year they get numerous complaints about people speeding in many school zones, including the area in front of Bowman Woods Elementary.

“Boyson Road is pretty busy and it's just going to get more and more busy as developments happen and time goes on," said Bowman Woods Elementary Principal John Zimmerman. "We have one main crossing in front of the school and sometimes it's hard to see that one red light.”

Signs say the area around the school is a 25 mile per hour zone "when kids are present."

Now that summer is over, officers are reminding drivers to slow down.

"Today (Tuesday), the fastest I've had so far is 38 miles per hour. I've had them out in the past well above 40, 46 miles per hour," Cedar Rapids Officer Robert Murphy.

Police are hoping to prevent accidents.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, about 250 of the 4,000 pedestrian fatalities across the U.S. in 2009 were children age 14 and younger.

Cedar Rapids police are conducting a special enforcement in school zones to keep kids safe. They visit different buildings each day for the first two weeks of school.

They're also working on a city-wide school signage issue.

Police say the ambiguity of the school zone signs with the message “when kids are present” creates a problem for police enforcement and confuses drivers.

"What we're doing is looking at funding to change those signs, making it very clear what it really means when children are present,” said Sgt. Christy Hamblin.

Those new signs are expected to be installed any day.

Police are funding those signs using proceeds from the city's red light cameras.