School, town request lower speed by Kings Elementary

Warwick — The Town of Warwick has asked Orange County to lower the speed limit on Kings Highway near Kings Elementary School between Ronald Reagan Boulevard and Belcher Road. The request first came to the town from Superintendent Frank Greenhall. “I’ve never been in a school district where the speed limit around a school isn’t low,” said Greenhall. The speed limit on Kings Highway is 55 miles per hour. All of Warwick’s other schools have reduced speed limits near them. Park Avenue School, which boarders Route 17A, a state road, has a school speed zone limiting drivers to 20 mph. The same is true with Sanfordville Elementary and Pine Island. There have been safety issues on Kings Highway. Last year, a flagman was killed across from the school. A Warwick high school student also crashed his car on his way to school one morning, coming around a curve allegedly at a high rate of speed. In his letter to the town, Greenhall noted the numerous accidents in the area and the safety of the students and their families. The driveway coming out of Kings Elementary was restructured a while ago. “If you look left, look right, and then pull out, people can nail you if you don’t look again,” said Greenhall. “They come up quickly.” Although Greenhall did not specify a speed limit, the town requested it be reduced to 20 mph. Kings Highway is a county road, known as County Route 13.