BUNKER HILL — The cold doesn’t bother Mark Kralicek, but speeding drivers do.

They really get on his nerves when he sees them while dropping two of his kids off at Bunker Hill Elementary School.  So the Coos Bay ironworker has made it his mission to get them to slow down to the 20 mph speed limit on U.S. Highway 101 in front of the school.

He started one day last spring after watching a speeding driver.

“This guy was flying and he slid right up to the curb,” he recalled.

Kralicek’s children had already scampered up the steps to the school, but Kralicek looked down the street and saw other students walking along the same sidewalk, unprotected from reckless drivers.

“Most people are pretty good, but some people have no respect for the school zone,” he said.

So once or twice a week, Kralicek takes a post behind the chain-link fence shielding the school’s parking lot from the highway.

His shoulder-length blond hair whips from side to side as he watches cars go by. When a driver slows down, Kralicek shoves his thumb into the air and smiles. When one doesn’t, he waves his arms up and down and points to the school.

If he notices a commercial truck speeding, he’ll call the company. The next time the company rig goes by, it’s driving the speed limit.

Not everyone is pleased with the work he does, he said. There are young guys who give him the finger or scream at him. One woman called the police Tuesday to report a suspicious man standing near the gate of the school yelling at traffic to slow down. But there also are parents who thank him for braving the cold weather or wave as they go by.

Eric Stinnitt accompanied his 9-year-old daughter to Bunker Hill on Monday. While he didn’t realize what Kralicek has been up to, he agreed speeding is a problem.

Highway 101 is patrolled by the Oregon State Police, which makes its presence known at the start of every school year. Lt. Steve Smartt also visits the school to make sure people are obeying the speed limit and wearing seat belts. If he notices too many speeders, he tells his troopers to increase enforcement.

“We have to inform people and educate them to watch for the sign,” he said.

Smartt visited the school Tuesday and spoke to Kralicek. He said he’s fine with what Kralicek is doing, as long as he doesn’t distract drivers.

“If he’s bringing attention to the school zone, we don’t have a problem,” he said.

Former bus driver Buford Conway, who stopped by the school Monday, doesn’t understand why the district doesn’t reopen Eastside School and move students away from the highway. He also said he’d like to see the district hire someone to do what Kralicek does.

“I think they should have had someone like this a long time ago,” he said.

He’s talked to some other parents about joining him, but the idea hasn’t caught on.

Superintendent Bob De La Vergne said he only learned about Kralicek this week. He agreed the location is not ideal for a school, but the district invested too much money to build a new auditorium to leave it vacant. The district hasn’t discussed assigning someone to urge traffic to drive slowly, but he appreciates that Kralicek has taken it upon himself to help.

Kralicek won’t be around much longer. He has a job lined up in Eugene that starts in January.

Until he leaves, Kralicek plans to keep a presence outside the school, even if that means putting up with a little wind and rain.

“I try to make a difference,” he said. “I’m hoping it does.”