UPLAND (February 17)–Four months after an 11-year-old Cabrillo Elementary School Student on the way to school was killed by a hit-and-run driver, the city of Upland and the Upland Unified School District have hired six crossing guards, who are now employed to escort children crossing well-travelled streets near five campuses within the city. Within weeks. five more paid crossing guards will be in place.
Previously, the city funded a crossing guard program but eliminated that effort in 2009 to reduce costs.
At present, two crossing guards are assigned to two intersections near Cabrillo Elementary where Isaiah Shelton was run down in October. Another crossing guard covers the intersection at 22nd Street and Vallejo Way near Valencia Elementary School, and another works the intersection of 18th Street and Mountain Avenue near Pepper Tree Elementary School. A crossing guard is stationed at the intersection of 11th Street and San Antonio Avenue, to help ensure the safety of students at Baldy View Elementary and Upland High School. And a guard is in place at the intersection of 13th Street and Mountain Avenue near Sycamore Elementary.
In the aftermath of young Shelton’s death, several parents and others came forward to volunteer to serve as crossing guards. But the city and school district rejected those overtures, claiming that there would be too much of a delay while background checks on the volunteers were carried out.  This did not prevent some volunteers from simply assuming the role of crossing guards at some of the more dangerous intersections near Upland schools.
The city undertook a study of 22 intersections near the city’s schools. After examining traffic flows, officials determined that though traffic volumes are sometimes high, they do not actually meet or exceed the level of vehicular intensity that triggers a Caltrans mandate for a crossing guard.
City officials were subjected to heavy criticism by a significant number of residents at council meetings in November and January because of the discontinuation of the earlier program and their less than immediate response to demands for crossing guards in the wake of Shelton’s death.