The intersection of Baker Street and Hazeltine Avenue prior to reconstruction, showing the guiderail that used to exist by Persell Middle School (Google Maps)
Jamestown City Council members are calling for a guiderail to be reinstalled at an intersection near Persell Middle School.
The guiderail was removed when the intersection of Baker Street and Hazeltine Avenue was reconfigured in 2024.
Public Safety Committee Chair and Council Member at Large Jeff Russell said that Council Member Joe Paterniti stated concerns about the intersection during the committee meeting following a car accident during the early hours of Saturday, January 4, 2025, “A vehicle went down through the intersection, didn’t go right, didn’t go left, went up through the lawn of the school, hit a street sign and knocked that down. That had to be replaced.”
Russell said speeding and bad weather contributed to the cause of the accident, “But it just goes to show and my concern was that this was going to happen. We were lucky that it happened in the early morning hours and that there were no students obviously. But if something happened during the school hours with kids out front we could have some kids seriously injured or killed.”
Russell stated that he had discussed the guiderail being replaced with Public Works Interim Director Mark Roetzer, who stated he didn’t feel it was necessary due to how the intersection was reconfigured. The cost to replace the guiderail would be over $10,000.
Russell added that he’d like Mayor Kim Ecklund and Jamestown Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Kevin Whitaker to have a conversation about the issue, stating that Whitaker has mentioned in the past that the district could possibly commit some funding toward joint projects.
The wording of your headline suggests that it is the school that should be replaced by the guardrail, which is not what you meant. The wording “the guardrail by Persell…” would correct that.
It baffles me that securing the safety of children is an issue.
$10,000 dollars is peanuts if we are talking about safety for children.
Heck…if need be, I would be happy to start a fundraising campaign to pay for it and shame those that oppose the safety of the children of our city.
It’s a no brainer to put back that guardrail. I hate that intersection now but I understand the reason behind the awkward corner.
It seems foolish to not complete the job or even to have not put that guardrail in the plan for the full remodel in the first place.