Crews will soon start working on making improvements to a pedestrian crossing on Holt Road.  The area just outside of Wheeler High School was the scene where two students were hit by a car while crossing the road.

Cobb County’s Board of Commissioners approved a Cobb DOT plan Tuesday night that would have the county partnering with the School Board to make safety improvements.  The two entities will share the cost of the project which includes;

• Installing two “rapid flashing beacon” devices at the crosswalk to warn drivers.  The crossing will include a raised median providing a pedestrian refuge in the middle of the road.  The crossing will have ADA-compliant ramps. This is similar to a pedestrian crossing currently in place on Lower Roswell Road just outside of the Sewell Mill Library and Cultural Center.
• Relocating the crosswalk away from a nearby side street and combine it with another crosswalk north of the current location.
• Closing an exit from a parking lot across from the high school near the crosswalk.
• Installing updated signage warning of the pedestrian crossing.
• Upgrading street lighting in the vicinity of the relocated crosswalk.

Contractors will meet May 1 to map out a construction schedule.

Cobb DOT engineers say if the old East Cobb Middle School site across from Wheeler High becomes an elementary school, further safety improvements will be needed.

Police cited the 73-year-old driver involved in the incident earlier this year, the two Wheeler High students injured are expected to recover.