Why is there a school zone that ends directly in front of a Tacoma middle school?

Q: Assume you’re headed north toward downtown on Pacific Avenue from 56th Street. Down around 52nd Street, you’ll see Stewart Middle School on your left. Directly on your right, there is a sign that says: “End School Zone.” Why does the school zone end directly across from a school? — C.R. Roberts, Pierce County legend

A: Well, that’s weird.

And with school supposed to start this week pretty much everywhere around here, timely. But mostly weird.

It turns out the school zone around Stewart Middle School is an anachronism, according to Tacoma city traffic engineer Josh Diekmann.

City policy long stated that school zones could be established only 300 feet before and after designated school crosswalks, regardless of how close they were to the schools. In Stewart’s case, the placement of the crosswalk meant the school zone ended across from the school.

In 2014, the City Council revised its rules, allowing what Diekmann called “active school use areas” to be added to school zones, thereby expanding the territory they cover.

The city made a list of school zones to extend and ordered them by priority, Diekmann says, and the zone around Stewart is the last to be completed. Early next year, the school zone will be expanded around the school and the sign presumably will be moved.

With school restarting, that means school zones are back in effect, too. Tacoma police officers will be doing extra patrols for the next few weeks to gently remind people to slow down for children, spokeswoman Loretta Cool said.

This story was originally published September 2, 2018 at 8:00 AM.