LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — City engineers in Lincoln say they won’t follow an order from the City Council to create a school speed zone at an intersection near an elementary school because the designation would make the intersection less safe.

City engineer Lonnie Burklund told the council on Monday that engineering studies show drivers are less likely to pay attention to a slower school zone in part because the school isn’t visible from the intersection.

He says neither he nor his staff at the Public Works and Utilities Department will sign the required documents allowing the zone at the northeast Lincoln site. The council wants to reduce the speed from 45 to 25 mph.

Parents have been pushing for years to make the intersection safer. Burklund says staff will look for other options.

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