Work began in June on the reconstruction of the intersection at Baker and Hazeltine to help alleviate traffic congestion near Persell School.

At the Jamestown Public Schools Board of Education meeting Tuesday, Superintendent Dr. Kevin Whitaker commented on the new intersection.

The Y-shaped intersection is gone, to make way for a narrower, T-shaped intersection.

“One of the issues with that intersection near Persell is that as drivers would come down Baker toward Persell to take a right (turn) on Hazeltine, their speed was not necessarily illegal, was just fast, especially when there are students who wanted to walk from one side of the road to the other,” Whitaker said.

A motorist makes a turn at the new intersection of Baker Street and Hazeltine Avenue, near Persell Middle School. P-J photo by Michael Zabrodsky

Now the intersection, Whitaker said, has much more of a 90-degree turn associated with it, so drivers will have to slow their vehicles more to be able to make the turn.

“So because of that (narrow intersection), it’s going to be much better for safety,” Whitaker said.

Students being hit while crossing Hazeltine Avenue prompted the intersection redesign. An incident in December 2021, and other close calls prompted the district to increase the presence of staff outside the school during student drop-off and pick-up to make sure students could get across the busy street more safely while other safety measures were discussed.

And the superintendent added that students at Persell will be reminded about the importance of staying off the streets when walking near the school.

City Public Works Director Mark Roetzer said in June there will be new crosswalks as well while the traffic light near the Baker Street entrance to Persell Middle School that has blinked yellow for years will be removed. He said new push-button-activated crossing signs are to be installed.

In a related matter, city resident Doug Champ addressed the board and said that the district should look into creating a uniform school zone safety system for each school in the city.

In other business the district is interviewing candidates for the Director of Special Education position. Whitaker said the former director decided to move back to the classroom and teach in another school district.

“We look to make an appointment sometime, soon,” Whitaker said.