With school coming back in session, the Juneau Police Department would like to remind everyone to pay close attention to the extra roadway traffic. School buses, pedestrians, and kids driving to and from school can increase commute times for everyone. Make sure to give yourself some extra time to get to your destination, that way you won't feel rushed.

Please pay close attention to any school bus with red lights flashing. This means they are stopping to pick up or drop off a child. Alaska law requires that the driver of a vehicle that approaches from any direction of a school bus stopped on a shared highway or vehicular way, shall stop not less than 30 feet from the school bus before reaching it when the school bus has flashing red lights. The driver may not proceed until the school bus proceeds and the flashing lights are no longer illuminated. Depending on the circumstances, passing a school bus with red lights flashing can be either a class B misdemeanor or an infraction. Drivers should treat the flashing yellow lights preceding the red lights as a caution to slow down to stop.

Kids walking or biking to school are highly vulnerable roadway users. Please slow down and give extra care to those trying to get to school safely, especially as the weather starts to cool and daylight diminishes.

Please look out for crossing guards actively walking into the crosswalks on the roadway with raised stop signs and reflective gear.

School zone lights will be on for about one-half hour before and after school. Some areas, like Riverside Drive and Glacier Avenue, may be longer due to overlapping school start and end times.

• Elementary schools (PreK-6) start at 8:00 am and end at 2:00 pm on Mondays, and end at 2:30 pm Tuesday through Friday
  • Harborview School will have the Tlingit Culture, Language, and Literacy program. It will start at 8:30 am and end at 2:30 pm on Mondays, and end at 3:00 pm on Tuesdays through Fridays.
• Thunder Mountain Middle School (7-8) will start at 8:45 am and end at 3:15 pm.
• Juneau Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kale (9-12) will start at 9:30 am and end at 4:00 pm.
• The Dzantik’I Heeni campus with Juneau Community Charter School, Montessori Borealis, and Yaakoosge Daakahidi High School will start at 8:30 am and end at 3:00 pm.
  • The JCCS and MB schools will end at 2:30 pm on Mondays.

Please be aware and familiar with the speed limit signs for school zones, as some are 20 mph and some are 15 mph. Speeding infractions are double the fines in school zones while the lights are flashing.