SPEED RADAR SIGN NEEDED TO SLOW TRAFFIC • Mary Wohlforth, principal of Mona Elementary, would like to have a speed radar sign placed in Mona at 960 South to slow traffic on Highway 91 South of Mona. Above, this radar speed sign is located East of Mona and flashes "SLOW DOWN" if approaching traffic is above the speed limit as shown in the inset photo.

 

Mary Wohlforth, principal of Mona Elementary, would like to have a speed radar sign placed in Mona at 960 South.
Jonathan Jones, council member, was serving as mayor pro tempore in the absence of Greg Newton, mayor.
He welcomed Wohlforth and invited her to present her plan.
Wohlforth said she was there to meet with Mona City council members to make the request to allow a speed radar sign to be placed along Main Street/Old Highway 91.
"I asked Lynn Ingram (city planning commission chairman) to help me with this project," said Wohlforth.
The school district has agreed to purchase the radar speed sign, she said.
A radar speed sign is an interactive sign, generally constructed of a series of LEDs, that displays vehicle speed as motorists approach. The purpose of radar speed signs is to slow cars down by making drivers aware when they are driving at speeds above the posted limits.
The signs will have the needed electricity supplied by solar units.
"The county will do the installation and placement of the sign," she said.
The county road department will also supply, place and paint other signs such as "speed reduced ahead" signs.
Elementary students in the community who live on the west side of the community and those on the far north must cross busy highways to get to school
In addition, she said, many young students now live south and west of the school in subdivisions.
The new speed radar sign would be of a great benefit to those students who are walking and must cross Old Highway 91 in order to get to school.
Other students north of the school are taking advantage of another crossing that is already established.
"Most kids are crossing at 300 South," said Wohlforth.
Would a pedestrian flag crossing program be good for students to use to help drivers become more aware that caution was needed because children were crossing the street?
Ingram said that flags had proven not to work.
Carrying a flag puts the responsibility on the pedestrian to be seen, rather than on the driver to watch for people crossing.
Other cities have found flag-crossing programs costly and largely ineffective. Similar programs have been piloted in places like Salt Lake City with less than stellar results.
In addition to being ineffective, there was also a frequent theft of the flags.
"Little people do not understand the flags," said Wohlforth.
Doug Anderson, Juab County Sheriff, said that he could make certain that deputies were posted at the street crossings to assure the safety of students arriving at and leaving school.
"We can do that," said Anderson. "I can post deputies at the school when students are traveling to school in the morning and when they are leaving in the afternoon.
The city council agreed that they were in full support of keeping students safe as they went to and fro to school.
"I am in full support of doing all we can to keep our students safe," said Molli Graham, council member.
Jeff Smith, council member over streets, said he agreed that the proposal was a good one.
He said that even parents driving their students to school tended to speed along the way.