Doherty High School to implement new school zone by end of month

Nick Sullivan, The Gazette (Colorado Springs, Colo.)
Updated ·3 min read

Apr. 12—The city of Colorado Springs will install a school zone outside Doherty High School by the end of April, a city official said Wednesday. Five flashers on Barnes Road will alert drivers to slow down during bell times at the start and end of the school day.

The city announced its plans to install the school zone in March after 17-year-old Doherty High School exchange student Giorgia Trocciola was struck and killed in an auto-pedestrian crash near the school.

Crews are already working on the roughly $50,000 school zone project. The school zone is expected to take effect at the end of next week or the beginning of the following week, according to city traffic engineer Todd Frisbie.

Two yellow flashers will be installed on the east school boundary of Barnes Road, two on the west boundary and one in between. Police officers will assist in its enforcement during the first couple of weeks by reminding drivers of the change, Frisbie said. Ultimately the safety measure's success comes down to the individuals who pass through, according to Frisbie.

"As with any implementation of change on infrastructure ... there's an obligation for drivers to obey the laws, to follow posted speed limits," Frisbie said.

Colorado Springs breaks from a long-held practice of installing school zones only around elementary and middle schools, which are typically posted in areas with speed limits over 30 mph.

Frisbie said multiple school districts have already reached out about potentially installing new school zones outside their high schools. Staff are already collecting speed and traffic data to determine other areas of need across the city's high schools.

"When such a tragedy happens, I'm grateful that the city was able to quickly respond and provide," school board President Parth Melpakam said at a March 23 news conference. "What we want is a safe passage for our students to and from school and to make sure that when they walk those sidewalks, crosswalks and streets that they are safe and protected."

Trocciola was struck in a crosswalk crossing Barnes Road in front of Doherty High School around 7:20 a.m. March 22 when a vehicle entered the intersection on a red light and hit her, according to a preliminary investigation by the Colorado Springs Police Department. Trocciola died on the scene.

The driver in the crash was charged with careless driving resulting in death, a misdemeanor, according to the police. The driver's name was not released due to being a juvenile.

Frisbee said a citywide study of intersection safety had not previously identified Barnes as a location where crash numbers and patterns indicated poor safety performance.

The city traditionally takes a data-driven approach in installing safety measures, he said. If an analysis shows safety performance is worse than expected, safety measures are then identified to improve its performance.

No solid plans are yet in place for additional school zone installations, Frisbie said. The city will first need to identify its fiscal restraints and then prioritize its projects accordingly.