Residents praise new diverter near Polaris Elementary, urge council to fund more school safety projects

Tonight during the public comment period at the Denver City Council meeting, crossing guards, parents and neighbors credited recent traffic changes near Polaris Elementary with reducing dangerous driving and increasing the number of children walking and biking to school, and they urged the council to prioritize funding and faster adoption of successful temporary measures.

The improvements came after years of neighborhood advocacy. Bradley (no last name provided), who identified himself as a crossing guard and special-education paraprofessional at Polaris Elementary, described drivers “speeding through the school zone, running the red light with people present at the crosswalk, blocking the crosswalk entirely, and using their cars to threaten and harass pedestrians.” He said left-turn lanes on Tremont Avenue were removed and replaced with a hardened median and that a diverter was installed…