The City of Caldwell is purchasing programmable school zone flashers for all 23 local schools, utilizing a grant from the Local Highway Technical Assistance Council.Its really to try and draw the attention to the drivers during the period when kids are actually walking to and from school, said Bruce Mills, deputy public works director.The new flashers, which can be managed via an app, allow city officials to input the calendar days when schools are in session. Due to funding limitations earlier in the school year, the department could not make the purchases sooner. However, a $200,000 fund from the Local Highway Technical Assistance Council is helping cover costs, with the department contributing an additional $78,000 of its own funding to complete the project of filling sidewalk gaps along school routes.Each school needs one on each end as traffic approaches the school, so they are about $4,000 for a pair of them, Mills explained.The funding will also be used to install crosswalks equipped with pedestrian signals that students can activate while crossing streets. We are using some of that money to put in crosswalks with the pedestrian signals they can push to flash while they are crossing the streets, and we are gonna use $100,000 to purchase the flashers, Mills said.Chelsea Larsen, a parent of three school-age children, expressed her support for the new safety measures. The more that we can help keep our kids safe in the community, the better, she said. Larsen believes that having warning lights and crosswalks where children need to cross enhances their safety. It makes sense that there is a light or cautionary light or crosswalks where kids can get where they need to go, she added.Another parent, Heidi Larsen, emphasized the importance of maintaining focus while driving. Its too easy to become distracted while driving; we need to help recenter the focus back on driving, she said.Mills noted that each signal will activate 30 minutes before school starts and stay on for 30 minutes after. This timing will help manage traffic and ensure students have enough time to cross streets safely. As soon as we get them in, we are installing them, Mills confirmed. ...read more read less