Hello Chardon Community Members!

I have been a member of the Chardon community for six years and am a parent of a 3rd grader at Park Elementary. I, along with other parents of Chardon students, are concerned with the safety of crosswalks within the Chardon Square. Students and parents alike run the risk of being injured every day while crossing the street to walk their families to and from school, to the playgrounds, library, and small businesses around the square. Vehicles are known to continue through the crosswalks regardless of waiting pedestrians or people already within the crosswalk, and many of the vehicles that pass through are so big that visibility over the hoods of these vehicles is little to none - especially when it comes to small children. I myself have nearly been struck by traffic within a crosswalk on multiple occasions, and have witnessed multiple occasions where it could have been a pedestrian child crossing the street on their way to school. 

The Chardon community utilizes the historic square for many activities where pedestrians are out and utilizing the streets and crosswalks. The Chardon Square is heavily used by the entire community, and to keep the community safe we need to do more to protect them. We have some basic signage alerting vehicles to the school crosswalk but they are either missed or ignored by drivers. There are no other safety measures such as flashing lights or school crossing guards to help maintain pedestrian and student safety at any of the crosswalks within the square. I have contacted the CPD, City of Chardon, and Chardon City Schools about crossing guards in the past to no avail. 

Fellow parents and other concerned community members have a suggestion to help make the Chardon Square safer by using the "See Me Safety Flag system. This system has been implemented in other cities by school PTOs, Girl Scouts, youth sports teams, community organizations, and concerned citizens. This system is simple, efficient, and cost effective. Each set includes orange safety flags, PVC storage containers with instructions, and fixtures for attaching them to sign posts on either side of each crosswalk. This system has been studied by the Transportation Research Board and findings conclude an effectiveness range of up to 80% in creating visibility and stopping traffic for pedestrians. We are asking for four (4) full safety systems to help maintain the safety of our children, students, and community members.

https://www.seemeflags.com/

This petition will serve as a way to gather signatures from community members in favor of positive change which can be brought up in a city meeting in late October, if not sooner. Fundraising can begin if/when this gets the green light!