School Zone Safety Campaign Begins

Los Gatos-Monte Sereno traffic enforcement officers will be out in full force this week to crack down on unsafe

The local effort is part of a Santa Clara County law enforcement campaign aimed at repressing unsafe driving around schools starting today and continuing through Friday.

The purpose of the campaign, titled "Operation Safe Passage," is to alert parents, commuters and children who walk or ride their bikes to and from school about traffic laws near school zones.

Throughout the week, officers will strictly enforce traffic laws in and around school zones during peak commute hours.

Officers will focus on infractions including speeding, failing to stop for school buses with flashing stoplights, failing to yield to pedestrians, jaywalking, and using cellphones while driving.

They will also make sure juvenile bicyclists are wearing helmets, and that drivers are buckled up.

Los Gatos-Monte Sereno police Sgt. Steve Walpole said at the start of the school year that the department and the school districts also have a long-standing partnership to ensure 10 high-use intersections are manned by crossing guards.

Walpole has said the four most congested intersections in the Los Gatos are near (Daves Avenue at Poppy Lane), (Blossom Hill and Roberts East), (East Main Street at Jackson) and (Nino Avenue at Los Gatos Boulevard).

"While traffic and pedestrian safety around schools is always a high priority to the department, we know that engaging in high visibility events such as Operation Safe Passage serves the dual purpose of enforcement and public education," said LGMSPD spokesman Sgt. Kerry Harris.

—Bay City News Service contributed to this report