SOUTH DEERFIELD — As students return to school, Deerfield Police Patrolman Adam Sokoloski warns that many typically quiet roads in the region will suddenly become flooded with traffic.
“It’s a huge traffic influx, almost like a light switch,” he said. “Just in Deerfield alone we have over 2,000 students.”
As traffic ramps up, Sokoloski said, the department is dedicating extra resources to help with traffic and meet new students.
He also said the department is changing its tactics in other ways to keep the public safe amid the back-to-school bustle. Following a successful trial last year, Officer Brian Ravish will return as school resource officer, this time with a memorandum of understanding between the police and the school. Sokoloski said Ravish will be a permanent fixture at the school as the resource officer moving forward.
“This summer he’s been going to open the weight room at night, so he’s been getting to know students,” Sokoloski said.
Just down the road from the Police Department, a traffic radar trailer alerts motorists passing Frontier Regional School to check their speed. To help out with traffic concerns, he said the department will focus on safety around schools in the coming months.
There are five schools in town – Frontier Regional School, Deerfield Elementary School, Deerfield Academy, The Bement School, and Eaglebrook Academy. Most of the congestion comes near downtown South Deerfield, where the two public schools are located.
According to Sokoloski, as traffic volume increases, so does speeding.
In light of increased traffic risks, Sokoloski recommends that parents warn their children of the dangers of walking with headphones, and make sure they know to alert an adult as soon as possible if they see anything suspicious.
“Kids walking to school, just be aware,” Sokoloski said. “If there’s anything out of place, let your bus driver know, let your teacher know, let your school resource officer know.”
In the first few months of the school year, Sokoloski said that emergency responders will conduct training exercises with the students, such as lockdown and fire drills that include surrounding towns such as Sunderland and Whately and the state police.