School safety under scrutiny

GLENDALE — City and school district officials will meet today to discuss traffic safety in the area around Toll Middle School, where 11-year-old Meri Nalbandian was killed by a distracted driver last week.

A private meeting at noon today will include a discussion of the current traffic and safety measures for the regularly congested two-block stretch of Glenwood Road, where Keppel Elementary School and Hoover High School also are.

“It has always been a very challenging environment from a movement standpoint,” City Manager Jim Starbird said of the area where more than 4,000 students attend school daily. “So with the advent of the recent incident, we are again going to sit down and evaluate all options for making sure that the environment around the school remains safe.”

The death on a crosswalk in front of Toll last week wasn’t the first to prompt concerns over traffic safety in the area.

In 2000, Hoover student Raul Aguirre was stabbed and killed after trying to break up a gang-related fight, which involved cruising in the area. The death mobilized community members and officials, prompting a temporary closure of Glenwood in front of the schools, as well as other changes to adjust the traffic flow.

Surrounding roads were eventually converted to one-way streets, and a crosswalk with sidewalk protrusions and flashing lights was added in front of Toll.

It was on that crosswalk where the sixth-grader was killed last week, prompting community concerns about safety.

That day, there were crossing guards on duty at a nearby intersection, but not in front of Toll, officials said. Since Meri’s death, the city has assigned a crossing guard to the crosswalk, a temporary change that may become permanent, depending on what comes out of discussions between city and school district officials.

“We’re going to go back and look at the history of what had been done,” Glendale Unified School District Supt. Michael Escalante said. “Then we’re going to begin to explore with the city staff: Is there additional studying that needs to be done, or do we have enough data to recommend changes?”

Principals from Toll, Hoover and Keppel will also attend the meeting.