Medford City Council OKs $250K grant to warn motorists of speed limits, project expected to be finished by July 31, 2026

More flashing speed signs are planned for Medford streets to warn motorists to slow down as they enter a school zone.

Medford City Council unanimously approved a $250,000 grant on May 21 with the Oregon Department of Transportation to install the flashing signs near Jackson Elementary, Oak Grove Elementary, Lone Pine Elementary, Jefferson Elementary, Kennedy Elementary and Kids Unlimited Academy.

Councilor Mike Kerlinger said he appreciated having a speed-feedback sign in 20 mph school zones.

The flashing beacons “are my favorite ones because I don’t have to guess that it’s a school zone when I’m driving through.”

The project’s main purpose is to improve safety in school zones by using flashing beacons to bring attention to the times of day that a school-zone speed limit is in effect.

The speed-feedback signs are designed to encourage lower vehicle speeds and to increase motorist awareness.

The city is expected to complete the design for the project by December and finish the project by July 31, 2026.

New beacons will be installed on West Jackson Street, West Main Street, Lone Pine Road, Brookdale Avenue, Garfield Street, Delta Waters Road and Riverside Avenue.

The beacons are in addition to speed signs already located on streets around schools.

John Vial, Medford Public Works director, said the city works closely with the Medford School District to determine the location of flashing beacons and other signs.

“They’ve had issues with people speeding in front of their schools,” he said.

Many schools already have signs that alert motorists about their speed.

Hoover Elementary has a speed-feedback sign with flashers on Siskiyou Boulevard.

Howard Elementary has both a speed-feedback and flasher sign on Merriman Road.

Oak Grove Elementary has a speed-feedback sign but no flasher on West Main Street.

Abraham Lincoln Elementary has both a speed-feedback and flasher sign on Delta Waters Road.

Hedrick Middle School has only a speed-feedback sign on East Jackson Street.

The council’s approval will both replace or add flashing beacons at many schools.

Jackson Elementary will get two speed-feedback signs with flashers on West Jackson Street for both eastbound and westbound traffic.

Oak Grove Elementary will have two new speed-feedback signs with flashers on West Main Street, both northbound and southbound. The new flashing signs will replace the existing speed-feedback sign.

Lone Pine Elementary will have three speed-feedback signs, located on Lone Pine Road, both eastbound and westbound, and on Brookdale Street, for northbound traffic.

Jefferson Elementary will get two speed-feedback signs with flashers on Garfield Street for both eastbound and westbound traffic.

Kennedy Elementary will have two speed-feedback signs with flashers on Delta Waters Road, for northbound and southbound traffic.

Motorists traveling northbound on one-way Riverside Avenue will see flashers on both sides of the street, just south of Kids Unlimited.

Medford submitted several grant applications for ODOT’s 2025 Safe Routes to School program and received approval for the flashing beacons’s grant, which pays all the costs associated with the project with no matching dollars from the city.

Since the Safe Routes to Schools program started in 2018, Medford Public Works has previously received funding for installation of five flashing signs, school crosswalk improvements and over 3-miles of sidewalks near elementary schools. The department is still working on the sidewalk project approved in the 2022 cycle. 

Reach writer Damian Mann at dmannnews@gmail.com