GLENPOOL, Okla. — Oklahoma Department of Transportation and Glenpool City leaders met on September 15 to discuss ways to increase safety on 151 Street, exactly a week after a 9-year-old student was killed on the road.
The city said a change drivers will see is advisory signs by the school, which lowers the speed limit in that area to 45 MPH.
WATCH: Glenpool, ODOT leaders talk safety improvements
This change is the only action taken so far. Glenpool City Manager David Tillotson said the agencies have more meetings planned for the future to talk about long-term solutions.
While temporary advisory signs will be put up in the days after the meeting, ODOT is working to permanently address the speed limits.
Tillotson said ODOT is required by law to complete a speed study before changing the speed limit.
The agency is working on completing that study, according to Tillotson. Once completed, it will be presented at the next ODOT commission meeting on October 6.
The day of the deadly crash, Glenpool leaders urged ODOT to take action. 2 News asked Tillotson exactly a week later if he was confident that action would be taken.
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"Yes, I believe ODOT has heard us," Tillotson said. "Timing has improved and they are willing to move forward to solve some of the issues we’ve seen in this corridor on some of the safety standpoints."
2 News went the the City of Glenpool's 276-page Highway 67 Corridor study, which they gave to ODOT. The study looked at the growth of both Bixby and Glenpool and presented ways the road could be safer.
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While several solutions were presented in the study, the city said these are currently not planned or funded.
Tillotson said it will take time to get some of the major changes off the page.
"Unfortunately, projects take a while. We’re not a private business. We don’t get a chance to go out and do what we want," Tillotson said.
He pointed out that funding is another challenge. ODOT is currently revising its eight-year budget plan, which they do yearly. However, no projects on the corridor are scheduled or have funding allocated to them.
Meanwhile, Monday night, the city council approved a resolution to add speed 'advisory signs.'
They look like this.
While not directly enforceable, police in Oklahoma can pull people over for what they deem excessive driving.
Tillotson said ODOT ordered the signs on Monday, and would likely be installed sooner than later.
ODOT's revised eight-year plan is expected to be approved in October.
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Tillotson said the City of Glenpool is continuing to push for changes to the roadway, including stop lights, street lights and the creation of turn lanes.
"We want to make sure we are taking care of the public's funding and we do so legally, in which this case builds in some of those slowdown processes," said Tillotson.
2 News reached out to ODOT around 9:30 a.m. September 15. ODOT's spokesperson said after the meeting, the agency would send out a statement. 2 News reached back out after the meeting, but has not heard back.
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