VERMILION PARISH, La. (KLFY) -- Kaplan drivers will have a new speed limit to obey near Kaplan Elementary School.

The city is implementing a school zone, with a speed limit of 15 mph, on West 6th Street from Elezar Street to Montgomery Avenue. The speed limit will be effective Monday through Friday from 6 - 8:30 a.m. and 2 - 4:30 p.m.

Kaplan Police Chief Joshua Hardy said Eleazar Street which is in front of the elementary school is busy. 

“The schools for years they used to rope off the front of the school. With times changing they say it is a liability,” he said. 

Hardy said the school made changes to keep students out of harm’s way.

“Some of the parents would drop their kids off and just let them walk by themselves. So the school changed it to where you can no longer walk the child to school. They have to ride a bus," he said.

A bus stop was added on 6th Street between Eleazar Road and Montgomery Avenue, Hardy said, and that the manager of the housing authority near the elementary school asked to make the area a school zone to slow down traffic for children.

“With the bus stop being there, it's important that we slow that speed limit down so that someone is traveling right there, a parent coming from dropping someone off, or even a school bus passing by driving on to drop kids off. On traveling at a high rate of speed and something happened. One of those kids ran out, and happened to run to the road; the traffic is not at the full speed limit," he said.

The council voted in its Aug. 20 meeting to adopt the new school zone.

The police chief said signs will be displayed to indicate the area is a school zone as well as provide the speed limit and the hours for the lowered speed limit. 

Hardy said there are other school zones on 6th Street that apply to other schools but Kaplan Elementary did not have one.

“We're always wanting to look out for the safety of the children, whether it's in the school zone or just on the way of them walking to school. Not just the elementary school but other schools as well. Always follow the speed limits in the school zone. So that way the safety of the children is okay," Hardy said.

The new speed change and signs will go into effect by the beginning of September. The chief said anyone caught speeding will be cited for a traffic violation.

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