Hermon-DeKalb CSD Board of Education supports reducing speed limit on Route 11

DE KALB JUNCTION, N.Y. (WWTI) – A north country school board is urging lawmakers to help slow traffic down around their school.

During the Monday, April 8 meeting of the Hermon-DeKalb Central School District Board of Education, members voted unanimously to once again encourage state lawmakers to lower the speed limit along a stretch of US Route 11 near the school.

The board passed a resolution that it previously approved for the first time in February 2020. This called for the speed limit to be reduced from 55 mph to 45 mph on the roadway for the maximum distance the state will allow in each direction from the school district’s property.

While the entrance to the school is located on the immediately adjacent East De Kalb Road, the school’s athletic fields and playground are on Route 11. Students often walk or ride bicycles on the road to attend school and other school functions. The students must navigate the four-way intersection of Route 11 and East De Kalb Road, which doesn’t have sidewalks or a crosswalk.

The board cites the steady flow of traffic in and out of the district’s parking lots. Much of that traffic must use the intersection, which has been the site of numerous vehicle crashes over the years, including two fatal accidents within the last four years.

As a district, we have been advocating for this change for two decades. While I understand we cannot arbitrarily adjust speed limits on state roads, this change is long overdue. We would like to see every opportunity to make the road safer for our students, staff and the community in general.

Hermon-De Kalb Superintendent Mark White

The resolution formally supports two pieces of legislation; NY State Senate Bill 2023-S8791 and NY State Assembly Bill 2023-A9514 . Both measures, if passed by lawmakers in the state senate and assembly, would allow the town of DeKalb to reduce the speed limit on this portion of Route 11.

On April 10, the town of DeKalb passed its own resolution on the issue in conjunction with the Hermon-DeKalb Board of Education resolution.

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