Camarillo crossing guard reminds drivers to be cautious near schools
By Daniel Wolowicz camarillo@theacorn.com

DANIEL WOLOWICZ/Acorn Newspapers ON GUARD-For the past seven years, Camarillo resident Pat Archambault has helped keep students safe.

Pat Archambault steps off the curb onto Temple Avenue wearing a brightly colored vest and holding aloft a fireengine red stop sign. Following close behind, a cluster of schoolchildren trek across the busy roadway as morning commuters come to a stop.

Archambault, a retired doctor's assistant and a resident of Leisure Village, stands guard in the middle of crosswalk to ensure that the students, many of whom she knows by name, make it safely to the other side. She barely returns to her spot at the corner of Temple Avenue and Hartnell Street before cars are once again rolling through the hectic intersection.

It's 7:45 on Monday morning and it's Archambault's busy time. Dozens of students are making their way across the street to school, at either California State University Preparation School or to neighboring Los Altos Middle School. All the while, parents are dropping off their youngsters and harried commuters are trying to make their way to work.

By 8:30 a.m., the final bells have rung, the flow of frantic drivers has ceased and the crosswalk is quiet once again.

Every morning and midafternoon it all happens again at school sites scattered throughout Camarillo. It's up to crossing guards like Archambault to protect students, parents and teachers who walk to school.

Some morning commuters aren't following the rules of the road, and their bad driving habits have put students in danger and left some parents frustrated.

"They (drivers) need to look out for little kids because we've seriously almost lost a couple," said a Camarillo mom who asked not be identified because she works in law enforcement.

Ken Mitchell, a sheriff 's deputy with the Camarillo Police Department, said motorists should remember that when a crossing guard is in a crosswalk, traffic cannot continue on until the crossing guard and pedestrians are safely on the curb.

Although i t 's legal for through traffic to cross an intersection parallel to the crosswalk where people are crossing, it's illegal to turn into the crosswalk while it's occupied by a crossing guard and pedestrians. That maneuver has caused a number of "near misses," in her intersection, Archambault said.

Temple Avenue runs north to south. Hartnell Street, which runs east to west, bisects Temple and feeds directly into the parking lot shared by University Preparation School and the Pleasant Valley School District offices.

Archambault said that drivers turning onto Temple from Hartnell usually pass through the intersection because traffic is stopped on Temple in both directions. At the same time, students often cross Hartnell or the mouth of the busy parking lot-both unguarded crossings. With cars and pedestrians competing for the intersection, there are close calls.

Mitchell said that drivers need to be especially aware of students in a school zone while classes are in session. He said drivers should remember that the cost of a ticket can rise steeply when they're given in a school or construction zone.

Archambault said police presence at her intersection- the busiest in the district because of the two campuses- is very good. She said police target both speeders and drivers who pass through the crosswalk before all pedestrians are on the sidewalk.

"With most of the people who I catch rolling through an intersection, i t 's not that they're doing it intentionally, it's that they're not paying attention to traffic conditions," Mitchell said. "They're trying to get their kids to school, changing their radio or thinking about something else."

Archambault said most motorists are patient when she stops traffic to allow students to cross, but there are some who are in a rush and would prefer not having to wait.

"They're always yelling at me for something because I hold them too long," Archambault said. "I just smile and say, 'sorry.' I try not to hold them up. I understand they have to get to work."

The crossing guards are part-time employees paid by the city. They are overseen by retired Senior Dep. EJ Rogers, who works for the Camarillo Police Department.

According to officials with the department, there have been no fatal accidents at the Temple and Hartnell intersection.

The one crossing guard to be injured on the job was hit by a motorist at the intersection of Temple and Vista Street near the Camarillo Boys & Girls Club in 2000.