Last week, after a Cario Middle school student was hit by a truck while crossing four lanes of traffic, police, county, school and town officials have come together to ensure this never happens again.

Sixth grader Haley Rogge was struck as she crossed Park West Boulevard after the school dismissal. She was one of several Cairo students in the crosswalk at the time.

Officials have shied away from saying exactly whose responsibility it is to provide a safe crossing for children walking to and from Park West schools. But the town has allocated funding and is designing crosswalk improvements that should be put into place within the coming weeks.

According to Mount Pleasant Town Administrator Eric DeMoura, the town is prepared to acquire what is referred to as rapidly flashing beacon signs.

"We were trying to find a solution out there that increases compliance with traffic laws," he said. "There are signs out there now indicating a crosswalk and those signs are designed to get the attention of a driver. They don't work so well."

Essentially, the new signage works with the press of a button. These will be more beneficial than an actual crossing guard because they can be used year round, day or night and on weekends - not just when school is in session. This was important to officials because the crosswalk in question connects a large apartment complex with a Town of Mount Pleasant Recreation Complex.

When a pedestrian presses a button, a radio signal is sent to three large signs (one on each side of the road and one in the median) high intensity LED bright white flashers then go off as the pedestrian crosses. The technical name for the system is Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacon (RRFB).

"These are not like school zone blinkers. These are very noticeable," said DeMoura.

"The compliance rate with this traffic improvement is in the 80s. That's higher than any other traffic improvement besides forcing someone to stop."

DeMoura said that the Charleston County Sheriff's Office provides school crossing guards and are currently in the process of hiring one to help children cross throughout the remainder of the school year. The crossing guard is expected to be present even after the new signage and lighting are installed and functioning.

"We've been working cooperatively with Sheriff's office, the Charleston County School District and Park West," DeMoura said.

"Everyone understands that we want to do something that will work so we don't have this problem again."

He added that until the county can hire a crossing guard, police officers will remain present to help children cross. They are currently stationed at the entrance and the exit of the school campus to direct motorists.

The presence of officers and the installation of this new crossing product are all being funded by the Town of Mount Pleasant.

"We have funding in the budget right now to do this. As far as a time line, we don't know how quickly we can get the products installed. The good news is that these flashers operate off of solar power so there will be no digging and wiring, making installation much easier."

For more information on this new crosswalk device, visit:

? http://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/intersection/resources/techsum/fhwasa09009/fhwasa09009.pdf

? http://saferstreetsla.org/wp-content/uploads/reports/Why%20Engineering%20Countermeasures%20Are%20More%20Effective%20Than%20Photo%20Enforcement%20in%20Reducing%20Red-Light%20Related%20Crashes.pdf

? http://www.spotdevices.com/system-rrfb.html

? http://www.stopexperts.com/index.html