CONSTRUCTION OF JACKSON TRAFFIC SAFETY VILLAGE STARTS

JACKSON -- Construction of a miniature traffic safety village to give bicycle and traffic safety instruction for young children is under way in the Jackson City Park.

A ground-breaking ceremony was held Tuesday to mark the start of construction. The village will be located on Optimist Hill, on the west side of the lake and in the north side of the park.

The Jackson safety village is similar to one in Cape Girardeau, but the Jackson safety city will have miniature buildings located along the concrete streets with four-way stops, stop signs and pedestrian crosswalks. The buildings will include a school house and police/fire station.

The village is expected to be completed in time for a Safety Fair that will be held in the village on May 30.

When not used for traffic safety programs, the village will be open to the public, said Beverly Nelson, vice president of the Jackson Noon Optimist Club and chairperson of the traffic safety village project.

"The program and purpose of Safety City is to teach children, ages 6-10, bicycle safety and pedestrian safety rules, and the rules of the road," said Nelson. "There will also be one hour of classroom instruction covering seatbelt laws, poison prevention, drug awareness programs."

Nelson said the safety village will use children's bicycles and Big Wheel tricycles to teach children how to ride safely.

"Each child who participates in the traffic safety village program will receive a bicycle helmet that they can keep after the session is over," she explained. "There will be 12 safety village sessions, all of them on Saturday so parents can attend."

Nelson said enrollment in the traffic safety course is free but will be limited to about 200 children. "We will be sending enrollment forms home with elementary school students in May. Parents can also sign up their children at the Safety Fair on May 30," she added.

Nelson said the first, month-long traffic safety course will be held in the village in June. "Our plans are to hold the course each June, before the weather gets too hot," she said. "The course will be taught by members of the Noon Optimists and volunteers from Girl Scout Troop 241."

Nelson said after the last session in June, the village will be open to the public during the rest of the summer. "On any day of the week, parents can take their children to the village to let them go through the safety course," Nelson said. "There will be rules of the road signs posted so parents can teach their children the same thing we will be giving the children who attend the June traffic safety sessions."

Nelson said the village will also be an ideal spot to teach children how to ride a bicycle safely. "It will be a good training course for beginning bikers, and a safe one, because they will not have to ride out in the city street to learn," she said.

The village will be constructed almost entirely with donated materials and labor, Nelson said. "We would appreciate any assistance other organizations in Jackson can give us with the project," she said. "Our major expenses are the 10 bicycles, seven Big Wheels, 200 bike helmets and about 1,300 feet of concrete pavement. If it were not for the donated help, materials and labor we have already received, our plans for Safety City would still be on the drawing board."

Nelson said at least eight new 20-inch and 24-inch boys and girls bikes are needed. Used bikes of the same size, and Big Wheels, can be donated to the safety village if they are in good mechanical condition, she said.

After the bicycles and Big Wheels are obtained, Nelson said the only other annual expense in operating the safety village will be the purchase of 200 bike helmets each year for children who attend the June traffic safety program.

For more information about making donations to the safety village, contact Nelson at 243-4404 or Robin Thompson, 243-8859.