It was during her senior year at Niagara Wheatfield High School that Anna Krehan learned a valuable life lesson. 

"That my voice matters and I can be heard," said Krehan, who is currently a freshman at Niagara University.

What You Need To Know

  • After yearlong advocacy, student plea for speed limit change is honored
  • Advocacy began with class assignment
  • Speed limit near Niagara Wheatfield High School went from 45 to 35 miles per hour
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While enrolled in a spring 2019 class on government, Krehan was assigned to identify an issue in her community that needs to be changed.

Krehan didn't have to dig deep to address a problem that affected not only her, but also her classmates and teachers: the speed limit on State Route 31. 

"I was actually involved in an accident," Krehan adds. "People would fly down and it was hard to get out the parking lot because there was no traffic light." 

The speed limit in front of the Niagara Wheatfield Campus was 45 miles per hour. 

Two other schools are on Route 31 and the speed limit by them is only 35 miles per hour. 

And so began Krehan's efforts to change that — and not just for her class project.

"The process was slow, but it was definitely worth it," she says. 

Her history teacher, Beth Pyskaty, says making such a change at the state level is difficult.

 "She really had to do a lot of investigating and following up," said Pyskaty. 

Krehan reached out to elected officials and presented her concerns to the Board of Education. After initially being rejected she got more than 150 students, parents, and staff to sign a petition to change the speed limit.  

"I never expected it to go that far but I’m so happy that it did," Krehan recalls. 

The new speed limit of 35 miles per hour is now in effect on school days between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m.

This is the third year that Pyskaty has been teaching her course. She says this is the first time a student in her class has initiated such a change. NYSDOT put up new signs, after over a year of her advocacy. 

"A lot of times when you’re 17 or 18, you don't think that you could enact change," said Pyskaty. "You don't think that anybody can assist you. Except this is one of our fellow Falcons that was able to enact this big change which is something that is going to be there forever. It's going to help the whole community, the safety of the people coming in and out of our campus, so it’s a huge win."