The Summit County Council is worried that traffic congestion near a new charter school on Kilby Road might be placing children in a dangerous situation.

“If some child gets run over there will be all heck to pay,” Summit County Councilman David Ure said. “And there should be.”

Since the academic year at Weilenmann School of Discovery began parents have parked along Kilby Road while waiting to pick up their children in the afternoon, which has contributed to major traffic delays in the area.

“It’s a definite safety concern,” Summit County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Alan Siddoway said.

Traveling a half-mile along Kilby Road took more than 10 minutes last week.

“It took me 12 minutes to traverse from Gorgoza to the Weilenmann,” Siddoway said.

County officials say that parking along Kilby Road is prohibited.

“We’re going to put up ‘no parking’ signs and we’re going to have the boys in blue over there enforcing it,” Summit County Manager Bob Jasper said.

Those who park along the road might receive citations.

“We’re going to be putting “no parking” signs on both sides of the road,” Summit County Public Works Administrator Kevin Callahan said.

According to Summit County Undersheriff Dean Carr, traffic flows smoothly in the mornings when parents drop off their kids at Weilenmann.

“It’s a different issue when you pick them up,” Carr said.

But t he “no parking” signs will “cause all kinds of concerns,” he explained.

“It’s going to cause huge problems,” Summit County Councilwoman Sally Elliott said. “I think that should be [Weilenmann’s] primary issue right now, how to get students in and out.”

Since schools are not required to follow local planning guidelines, a traffic study was not submitted to Summit County before school construction began along the frontage road near Interstate 80. Councilpersons discussed the issue last week in Coalville.

“I’ve heard from more than one person that the school says it’s the county’s responsibility to mitigate the impacts,” Summit County Councilwoman Claudia McMullin said.

But taxpayers in the county shouldn’t be responsible for fixing the problem, Summit County Councilman David Ure said.

“Make parents who are unhappy put pressure on the school,” Ure said.

According to Jasper, Weilenmann cannot afford to improve the road.

“I hear they have no money,” he said.

And the county may be forced to respond if the road becomes too dangerous for pedestrians.

By adding some pavement to the street crews could install a center turn lane for drivers pulling into the school, which could help smooth the flow of through traffic. Installing the acceleration and deceleration lane could cost about $200,000.