Gilroy parents, volunteers press city and district for fast school‑zone safety fixes after fatal crash

A group of parents, volunteers and residents urged the Gilroy City Council and Gilroy Unified School District to take immediate safety steps following a pedestrian fatality near Las Animas Elementary.

Cindy Nunez, a parent and volunteer crossing guard at the Charles Lux and Lopez Way intersection, said she started a petition and is asking for three things: “a formal volunteer crossing guard program,” driver‑ and pedestrian‑safety education across grade levels, and infrastructure upgrades such as “a 4‑way stop, clearly marked crosswalks on all four corners with beacon lights,” and speed cushions near schools. Nunez said the petition drew “overwhelming support” from neighbors.

Several other commenters described routine hazards. “This is not about traffic calming. This is not about convenience. This is about preventing the incident we can’t take back,” Miguel Flaqued said, urging all‑way stop controls at intersections adjacent to schools.

Jennifer Law, who walks her children to Rod Kelly, compared school crossings across the district and noted regulatory limits on certain devices. “I found that these [rectangular rapid‑flashing beacons] can only be installed in the middle of a block and not in conjunction with a stop sign,” she said, and asked the city to clarify which crossing treatments are allowable.

District and city staff described immediate and longer‑term steps. The police chief said the crash investigation involves coroner’s reports, toxicology and search warrants, and that the city has contracted an outside traffic‑engineering firm to study intersections in the area around the Los Animas crash. The city’s plan, the chief said, will start with that immediate area but “if there is a desire, we can certainly take [a broader approach] into consideration.”

District leadership said the earlier Safe Routes to School program lost funding during the COVID era and that restoring training and coordination will take time. A district representative told the boards any person placed in the street must be trained and that the district and city are discussing how to reestablish Safe Routes training and recruitment for crossing‑guard positions.

Elected members from both bodies said they want staged, visible progress. One trustee asked staff to return with recommendations on both a paid crossing‑guard model and a volunteer model so leaders can compare costs and safety implications. The chair confirmed the superintendent and city administrator will direct their staffs to find solutions and report back to their respective boards and councils.

Next steps: staff from the city and district will study short‑term “early wins” (training, signage, pilot crossing‑guard programs) and the contracted engineering firm will produce recommendations for the Los Animas area; elected officials said they may consider expanding the study afterward.