Students from Historic Lathrop walking to and from Lathrop Elementary School will soon have the added protection of lighted crosswalks to protect them while crossing the street.

On Monday, the Lathrop City Council voted to install solar-powered, push activated flashing lights at the intersection of 5th and N Streets.

And it took less than a month to get the project approved after the idea was initially floated by members of the city council.

During the council’s July meeting, the recommendation was made for staff to look at three intersections in the area of Lathrop Elementary School – N and 5th Streets, O and 5th Streets, and Thomsen Road and 5th Street – as possible locations for illuminated traffic control measures to protect students who are crossing.

Traffic in the area both before and after school has been an ongoing concern for parents who have requested additional police presence in the area to thwart speeders and unsafe drivers.

While all of the proposed locations were looked into by city staff, only one of the three met the recommendations set forth by the California Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices – which suggests that lighted crosswalks not be used in locations where yield signs, stop signs, or traffic-controlled signals.

Of the three proposed sites, only the location at 5th and N Streets exists as an uncontrolled intersection – making it the only one that would meet the MUTCD recommendations.

The council on Monday had two options for illuminated crosswalk sections – the first being roadway flashing pedestrian signs for $10,000, and the second being in-roadway warning lights to warn upcoming traffic for $40,000.

While the second option would have put flashing lights all the way across the intersection, it also could have taken significantly longer to install because it relies on coordination with PG&E to complete. According to the staff report, the second option also requires significantly more maintenance because of the ongoing wear-and-tear from traffic, and the need to trench sections of the roadway to lay the wire necessary to illuminate the flashing lights.

The city has already taken a number of traffic-calming steps at the three locations in an attempt to bring the crossing pedestrians to the attention of passing motorists – including adding ladder crosswalk markings, adding “slow school Xing” letters to the roadway, installing new high-visibility signs in fluorescent yellow, and adding in-street signs at the midblock crosswalk at N and 5 Streets.

The city already had $40,000 budgeted as part of a previously approved capital improvement project that will be used to purchase and install the new illuminated signage.

To contact reporter Jason Campbell email jcampbell@mantecabulletin.com or call 209.249.3544.