(a) Definitions. The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this section, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this subsection, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning:
Academic session means the period of time in which students of a public or private school attend classes.
School bus loading/unloading zone means a designated place on a street in which a school bus stops to load or unload passengers.
School zone means any public highway or street that is immediately adjacent to the property of a public or private school designated and marked as a school zone within the city limits.
(b) Designated in certain locations or areas. The following described locations or areas within the city are hereby designated "school zones" or "school bus loading/unloading zones" and no person shall drive a motor vehicle in any direction within said areas or locations at a speed greater than is reasonable or prudent under the circumstances then existing. The speed limit specified hereinafter shall be lawful, but any speed in excess of the limit so specified during the hours set forth hereinafter for each location or area shall be prima facie evidence that the speed is not reasonable or prudent and is unlawful on the days school is in session.
(1) Twenty mph in a school zone on a day in which academic sessions are held from 7:00 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. and from 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.; and
(2) Twenty mph in a school bus loading/unloading zone on a day in which academic sessions are held from 7:00 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. and from 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.:
a. On Airbase Road from a point 460 feet south of the south right-of-way line of West 13th Street to a point 88 feet north of the north right-of-way line of West 13th Street; and
b. On West 16th Street from the west right-of-way line of Lark Street to the east right-of-way line of Mesa Street.
(c) Installation of school and school bus loading/unloading signs and markings. The city manager, or his designee, is hereby authorized and directed to erect and install appropriate signs and markings in all school zones and school bus loading/unloading zones, in conformance with the Texas Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices (TMUTCD), indicating and carrying out the provisions of this chapter.
(Prior Code, § 18-73; Ord. of 4-12-1983; Ord. of 4-23-1985; Ord. of 3-28-1995; Ord. of 3-25-1997; Ord. of 3-9-2000; Ord. of 10-27-2009; Ord. of 8-14-2012; Ord. of 8-27-2013; Ord. No. 023-2017, § 1, 5-9-2017; Ord. No. 041-2017, § 1, 10-10-2017; Ord. No. 035-2018, § 1, 8-14-2018; Ord. No. 030-2019, § 1, 8-27-2019)
State law reference(s)—School speed limits, Texas Transportation Code § 545.357.