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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 28, 2019)
SIUSLAW NEWS | SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2019 | 11A RED LIGHTS from page 1A community knew the Flor- ence Police Department “A couple times a month, was doing that, it might the police department is go- give them one more thought ing to fund having police of- of, ‘Hmm, it could be to- ficers following school bus- day when law enforcement es on problematic routes to is following buses.’ This enforce the stop law,” Bailey should force people to start said. paying attention.” These vehicles will patrol It’s all about safety: for with the school bus, and students who may be cross- may not be visible to driv- ing busy streets, the buses ers. In addition, they may be and the other drivers them- out for both morning and selves. afternoon routes. The National Safety “That supports our de- Council advises that drivers partment in such a huge maintain a greater following way,” Trenholm said. “If the distance behind school bus- es, which should give ade- quate time to stop once the yellow caution lights start flashing. “It is illegal in all 50 states to pass a school bus that is stopped to load or unload children,” reports the coun- cil. “Never pass a bus from behind — or from either di- rection if you’re on an undi- vided road — if it is stopped to load or unload children. If the yellow or red lights are flashing and the stop arm is THE OLD SCHOOL FURNITURE STORE extended, traffic must stop.” NEW FURNTIURE AT OLD SCHOOL PRICES According to Trenholm, drivers should give plenty of NEED A GOOD NIGHT’S SLEEP? space in front of the bus for COME TO THE OLD students to cross, which to SCHOOL FUNITURE her means close to 50 feet. STORE FOR A NEW The National Safety MATTRESS Council continues, “The WHILE YOU ARE area 10 feet around a school THERE CHECK OUT bus is the most danger- BEDROOM SETS ous for children; stop far enough back to allow them space to safely enter and exit Monday - Saturday 10-6 • HWY 101 & 6th Street the bus. Be alert; children 541-997-9424 FREE IN TOWN DELIVERY often are unpredictable, and they tend to ignore hazards and take risks.” Despite these clear rules, there seems to be local con- fusion on what to do on a Florence Saw Shop has chain saws highway. for home owners and professionals Trenholm was clear that Along with Trimmers, Edgers, the bus stops on High- ways 101 and 126 are all in Blowers & Brushcutters spots where the highway is STIHL is the number one selling brand of gasoline considered “undivided” — powered handheld outdoor power equipment in America. which means that all traffic, MONDAY-FRIDAY 8AM-5PM across all lanes, must stop when the red lights are on. 1550 HWY. 101 & 6TH STREET “It doesn’t matter if it’s 10 541-997-2653 lanes across, you still have to stop,” Bailey added. This includes north of Florence near Fred Meyer, one problem area, and south of Florence in Glenada. “We get red light run- ners through there one af- ter the next after the next,” Trenholm said. “People just come roaring by.” And it can be hard to pre- A weekly roundup of shopping, savings and doings around town. FLORENCE SAW SHOP & RENTAL CENTER F LORENCE B OARDWALK M ARKET F LORENCE B OARDWALK M ARKET O FFERING : • Produce • Handmade Furniture • Jewelry • Baked Goods Come • Honey • Arts & Crafts Stroll th • Plants • T-Shirts e Water fr ont! • Crystals and so much more! Drivers are asked to keep adequate stopping distance around school buses, or around 50 feet. CHANTELLE MEYER/SIUSLAW NEWS dict when people will run the red lights. Siuslaw’s first school bus leaves the bus barn by 6:30 a.m. each school day, with the rest of the buses op- erating between then and 8:30 a.m. In the afternoons, buses are active between 2:30 and 4 p.m. In total, the school district has 10 reg- ular bus routes and three special education routes, all operated by the district’s 18 school buses. “The buses are all over the place; that’s the thing,” Tren- holm said. “They come in from rural, and then they’re on the city streets. Every- body has a different sched- ule and it’s so varied. Any place you are in town at any time, you could come across a bus.” “When in doubt, stop,” Bailey advised. “When you see the flashing yellow lights, that’s a sign to pro- ceed with caution. Law re- quires you to stop when the red lights come on.” To help increase safety and mitigate red light cita- tions, Siuslaw’s newest buses have added more flashing lights in hopes of increasing visibility. It’s a new standard, Tr- enholm said, and just one step Siuslaw has made. An- other has been to move to all same-side stops so fewer students have to cross the street. This was implement- ed last year. “We also avoid stops on Highway 101 in town,” she said. “We make all the stu- dents walk back a block to a Old Town Florence B & B Beauty Open Saturday - Sunday, 10-5 Located at end of Bay Street adjacent to the Port Parking Lot 6TH 10-6 6th & & HWY. HWY 101 101 541-997-9424 541-997-9424 MONDAY-SATURDAY Monday-Saturday 10-5 EDWIN K Bed and Breakfast, 1155 Bay St., Florence, OR Amazing at $1,100,000 5,800 sq. ft . Historic Craft sman Turn Key B & B with 7 Masters plus main level “owner suite “ & 1 bed apartment, gorgeous details throughout. Watch the river views from the front porch walking distance to shops and restaurants galore! Price includes real estate and furnishings. B & B business separate/negotiable. 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But once we get out of town, we have no oth- er options but Highway 101.” For the most part, these locations have plenty of sight distance. “Even on the secondary highways and county roads, if we see something that doesn’t meet our standards, we won’t put a crossing there,” Trenholm said. “We all want to enhance safety.” Bailey added, “The trans- portation department has been initiating a lot of things for those specific reasons. We just need people to drive better.” “People are not paying at- tention,” Trenholm agreed. “I don’t know what it is, since it’s a big yellow bus with flash- ing lights all over it. And our new buses have added even more flashing red lights. In- stead of it just staying, ‘Stop when red lights flash,’ they actually have an illuminated light that says it. We’re real- ly trying to enhance safety, but it doesn’t seem to make much difference.” Of those 37 people who delivered driver’s statements after getting reported for running red lights, many listed distractions or lack of attention as the reason they did not stop, as opposed to those who were unaware of stopping rules on undivided highways. According to Bailey, “The law is strict with any dis- tracted driving. As long as the police can articulate the distraction, it doesn’t matter what it is. So many people have dogs in their laps when they drive around. You can’t drive like that. One, if you get in a crash and an airbag goes off, that dog is going through you. And two, it’s 100 percent distracted driv- ing and going to impair your ability to drive.” Mobile phones also con- tinue to be a problem. In re- cent years, Oregon Depart- ment of Transportation has been making signs and bill- boards getting out the mes- sage: “Before you start your car, park your phone.” “People are more con- cerned with what’s going on inside their car,” Trenholm said. “They aren’t plugged into what’s going on and are not being cognizant when they’re in their vehicles. And they can’t be. We’re hoping awareness will help with so many people. This year, we’re taking action to try to im- prove safety with what we’re seeing out there.” See RED LIGHTS page 12A STIHL IS THE NUMBER ONE SELLING BRAND OF GASOLINE POWERED HANDHELD OUTDOOR POWER EQUIPMENT IN AMERICA. 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