CLIFTON PARK — Town planners want to make it safer for students using the southern entrance into the Shenendehowa school campus, and for their parents and bus drivers dropping them off.

Under a Spot Improvement Program offered by the Capital District Transportation Committee, the town is applying for about $45,000 to create a highly visible pedestrian crossing area on Clifton Park Center Road and School Drive, the only southern entry to the Shenendehowa district’s main campus. The main entrance to the campus is off Route 146, and is known as the northern entrance.

The crossing area would allow pedestrians to leave the campus and safely cross to homes in the Clifton Knolls housing development along Beechwood Drive, Locust Lane and Rosewood Drive.

“Fortunately, there haven’t been accidents there, but the town and the school district have identified the intersection as potentially hazardous,” said John Scavo, town planner. “We hope to ward off any chance of trouble with pedestrians or drivers there who use the intersection not only when school is in session, but throughout the year as well.”

The intersection is also a main hub for the district’s bus routes. Improvements also call for adding 350 feet of sidewalks along the southern shoulder of Clifton Park Center Road to connect with Locust Lane Park near the tennis courts. The park also has a playground, ball fields, a pool and community clubhouse.

Town Highway Supervisor Richard Kukuk said the intersection has long been a trouble spot causing traffic snarls, particularly during the start and close of school days.

“School buses have to line up and wait to turn left, and parents dropping off kids can sit there a long time,” Kukuk said. “At the same time, we see cars speeding through there to avoid the gridlock.”

Kukuk said the town has been considering doing speed studies to see how fast cars are buzzing through the intersection, and there is a possibility they may add a blinking yellow light to encourage caution. Any improvements of this nature would require working with the state Transportation Department, Kukuk said.

The school campus entrance is also commonly used by people looking for convenient parking to walk to the Clifton Common recreation park, a popular after-school and weekend gathering spot.

“Because of the many sports and social activities happening there every day, traffic flows steadily from Clifton Park Center Road into the Common and vice versa,” Scavo said.

The structure of Clifton Park Center Road creates its own challenges in carving out safer trails, sidewalks and turning lanes.

“The road is very old and narrow, with a lot of trees and utility poles,” Kukuk said. “It’s never been an area conducive for use on the shoulders on either side of the road.”

The improvements would also support the “Safe Routes to School” plan the town is working on in tandem with the school district.

Kukuk said as the town looks ahead at further safety options at this and other intersections along Clifton Park Center Road, aesthetics will also be a consideration.

“We don’t want to take down a lot of trees, because people in town like the rural character,” Kukuk said. “So we’ll work with everyone and see what’s safe and feasible.”