Expanded school zone hours in Orleans Parish

Under an ordinance passed by the New Orleans City Council June 28, school zone hours in Orleans Parish have been extended for both the morning and afternoon drive times.

The longer school zone hours that will go into effect on the first day of the 2012-13 school year will be 7 to 9 a.m. and 2:45 to 4:45 p.m.

Previously, the morning school zone times were 7:30 to 8:45 a.m., and the afternoon hours were 2:30 to 3:45 p.m. The speed limit during school zone hours remains 20 mph.

The ordinance gained support because school hours vary so much from school to school. Both the Orleans Parish School Board and the Recovery

School District requested the new school zone times to correspond to the times when students are en route to and from school.

New school zone signs will be installed in the coming weeks.