FARR WEST, Utah — Safety is a concern for on 2700 North in Farr West for parents and families.
This year, nine-year-old Carly Hodson, was killed in a crash when her mom was driving her to school at the intersection of 2700 N 2000 W. At that same intersection, crossing guard, Larry Antunez, captured video on his body camera of multiple close calls.
Over the summer, parents did a safety walk holding signs and posters, trying to encourage drivers to slow down.
Now, they are trying to use data to help come up with the best solutions. "There’s always complaints about the safety of this road and others around it,” said Jason Anderson, who chairs the city’s Traffic Safety Committee.
The group started because of these complaints and is trying to figure out what would work best to keep their community safe.
A team of volunteers in Farr West – with the city, county and community partners -- did a little traffic audit. They counted cars, pedestrians and cyclists going through different intersections, during a busy part of the day as kids went home from school.
"We actually got contacted by the school district that this was an area of concern for them and they wanted to do more research,” said Jeri Boren, community health educator, Weber-Morgan Health Department.
Anderson and his daughters were part of that group. He hopes it helps her understand more about the traffic in their city.
"It’s a lot busier than maybe she thought before and how important safety is to not just me, but you saw several other volunteers here, it’s good to know that there’s a lot of people who care about safety for kids."
Parents and neighbors have been trying to find ways to make the area safer. "The area is growing extremely fast, and they have some other developments coming in that they will need to really watch ways to keep kinds safe,” added Boren.
This is a road managed by UDOT, which is close to a freeway exit with school crossings.
“By doing this, we'll be able to provide research and data so say they want a roundabout or pedestrian crosswalk with the flashing blinkers, different things in the community, we can help give those suggestions,” added Boren.
DRIVEN TO CHANGE
