A number of Bryner Street residents, located in Helper, have spent a considerable amount of time approaching Mayor Lenise Peterman, the council and the Helper Police Chief in regard to concerns over the speed in which drivers typically use on the road.
Not only is Bryner Street often utilized by citizens and visitors alike, but there are many students that walk along, and cross, that road as it is so close in proximity to Sally Mauro Elementary School. Residents have visited council meetings and personally contacted Helper officials to resolve the issue.
A number of proposals have been presented by the concerned residents, such as making Bryner Street a school zone and installing school zone signs, lowering the speed to 15 miles per hour like similar streets in the city, painting crosswalk lines at all corners of Bryner Street and Sunset Avenue, the installation of a speed bump, and more.
Mayor Peterman stated that at the beginning of the 2023-24 school year, all crosswalks around the elementary school were refreshed with paint. Furthermore, a speed limit sign was installed to remind drivers to slow where children walk. In order to enhance the new speed limit sign, temporary speed bumps were also placed on Bryner Street.
“We did attempt to recruit volunteer crossing guard at Sunset and Bryner Streets, but did not receive enough applications to implement crossing guards,” Mayor Peterman explained. “Helper City is always interested in ways to help keep our children safe and these are just a few measures taken over the last three months.”
During the Nov. 2 council meeting, Bryner Street resident Scott McKee, who has acted as a mouthpiece for the safety of the children that use that street and all others, spoke during the public comment period for an update on the street traffic.
McKee stated that he believed that once people realize that they will not get a ticket for speeding through that intersection, they do not care, and the speeding has continued. He also said that the rumble strips that were installed did not help much as a lot of the cars swerved to avoid them.
McKeee then said that maybe the strips were not placed in the correct area and acknowledged that this was all experimental. Mayor Peterman questioned whether they should be moved closer to the crossing, and the consensus was that they were too close to begin with and if they were moved back and went all the way across the road, it may help more.
The issue of traffic being increased on other roads due to the rumble strips being installed was also raised. When questioned, a Helper City Police Officer stated that there are quite a lot of tickets that have been written on Bryner Street.
Following McKee’s comment, the same resident of Helper that attended the council meeting in May regarding convex mirrors questioned what the city’s plans were there, as she has not noticed any around town. She stated that she once again looked at prices online for the council and she is willing to speak with any of the council members about them.
“We encourage all drivers to slow down and always keep an eye out for children going to and from school, as well as those playing throughout our neighborhoods,” urged Mayor Peterman.