Improvements like sidewalks are slow in coming – but they’re close, city officials say.

Each weekday morning, over the course of a few minutes, two dozen or so tiny heads appear on Judy Panteleeff’s horizon.

She watches them bobble up the hill toward Blakely Elementary School, trailed by comparatively mammoth backpacks and, just as often, by rumbling traffic.

With the help of an orange flag, Panteleeff has been shepherding Blakely students across the busy – and some say dangerous – intersection in front of the school for 15 years.

She said the situation has improved some since the city heeded pleas from parents to restrict parking near the crosswalk, keeping the shoulder open for pedestrians and improving visibility for motorists.

Still, the thought of speeding sedans and scholarly sprites sharing the same roadway has nearby parents worried.

“I would never send my kids to school with just friends,” said Laurie Isenman, whose son Parker attends Blakely. “There are just too many cars on the street.”

So Isenman, who lives just west of the school in Blakely Heights, joins her son for his four-minute walk to and from class each day.

She, like many of her neighbors who have children who attend Blakely, lives too close to the school to be served by the bus, but too far away to feel comfortable about her son walking to school alone.

In response to concerns about unsafe conditions in school zones across the island, the city is designing non-motorized improvements at both Wilkes and Blakely elementary schools.

City engineer Lorenz Eber said the designs are about 40 to 50 percent complete and likely won’t be built until next year. Both projects will be funded by a $200,000 grant, with any remaining costs to be covered by the city.

Eber said the designs, if successful, could serve as templates for future island school zones.

Nine school corridors are marked as high priorities in the city’s non-motorized plan, but Blakely and Wilkes are widely regarded as the most dangerous.

City officials met with parents and staff at each school earlier this year to get ideas about ways to make the roads that surround the schools safer.

At Blakely, several problems were identified. Before and after school, inadequate parking space forces drivers dropping off or picking up their children to park along the street, which in turn forces pedestrians into the roadway.

There are no sidewalks, only narrow shoulders, and only one crosswalk in front of the school.

Jennifer Smith-Gori, also a Blakely Heights resident, said it takes about 15 minutes to walk from her house to the school, but she won’t let her two children make the trek alone.

She and two or three other parents take turns walking with all of their kids in a large group to ensure everyone arrives safely.

Even so, because there are no sidewalks and because cars often park along the shoulder, Smith-Gori must push her third child’s stroller along the edge of the street each time she makes the trip up Baker Hill Road.

“It’s a nightmare on that road,” she said. “You definitely feel vulnerable when you’re walking. I’d like to see some more parking and a sidewalk.”

Though the city is still working on its design, Eber said three pedestrian “islands” could be installed along Blakely Avenue. He cited the effectiveness of such islands on Madison Avenue, where their presence reduced average driving speeds from 35 to 27 miles per hour, according to a city study.

Also, back-in angle parking could be included on the east side of Blakely Avenue.

Eber said the project might have broken ground this year, but engineering staff shortages – including Eber’s own impending departure – have stalled projects around the city.

Meanwhile at Wilkes, students walking to school face a similarly ominous situation, with cars whizzing by children as they walk to school along the narrow shoulders.

To remedy the problem there, the city is considering building a 10-foot-wide shared-use path on the south side of Day Road, between Vista Drive and North Madison.

At least $780,000 worth of non-motorized improvements are already on tap for North Madison between Day and 305 that would also improve pedestrian access to the school.

Though neither project will address all concerns about the surrounding roads, Public Works Director Randy Witt said school corridors are at the top of the city’s project list.

“A lot has been done and a lot is in progress,” he said. “Schools are a number one priority, but there are a lot of number one priorities.”

As an example of school zone improvements, Witt cited the sidewalks along High School Road that swing up Madison to New Brooklyn Road and connect Ordway and the high school to Sakai and Woodward.

That, he said, along with the projects at Blakely and Wilkes and the scheduled non-motorized improvements at North Madison and Grow avenues, are signs of positive progress.

“It’s maybe not happening as quickly as I or some others would like,” he said. “Can I wave a wand to do it all at once? Unfortunately, I can’t. We can only do what council puts in front of us.”

Though it’s no wand, Panteleeff did say most drivers slow down around Blakely Elementary School when they see her holding her flag.

She also said things seemed calmer there this week, even if it was only the first day of school.

“It has gotten worse over the years,” she said. “But it didn’t seem as chaotic as usual this morning.”

Asked how effective the city’s changes might be, she was quick to respond.

“I have no idea,” she said. “People will still zip by, dashing for a ferry or something.”