Nov 6, 2007 4:45 pm US/Central
Some DISD Schools Lack Sidewalks For Students
DALLAS (CBS 11 / TXA 21) ―
Would you let your child walk in the middle of a busy road?
That's exactly what thousands of North Texas school children must do every day, putting their lives at risk. It's a growing problem in places where new schools are being built.
The Dallas Independent School District built Lowe Elementary School and Tasby Middle School just one year ago. The streets around the northeast Dallas campuses are nearly empty during most of the day. But before and after the school day, parents and students spill out from the building's grassy lawn and onto the surrounding streets.
Less than one month ago, CBS 11 News witnessed students near the schools walking in the street to avoid wet grass on a foggy morning.
Construction costs for the two schools exceeded $30 million, but did not include sidewalks. According to DISD officials, this is because the streets are unimproved, not the kind of streets that have sidewalks.
There is a concrete pathway that runs around the school, but it is simply not enough for the number of students and parents that gather around the building during peak times.
About 1,700 students from pre-K through eighth grade are enrolled in the two schools.
"Kids don't know when to cross the street," said parent Tiffany Cornell. "If there ain't no sidewalk, they just go run out there. Cars could hit things, anything could happen."
According to officials with the City of Dallas, sidewalks can be placed along unimproved roads, but only when requests are made.
Ben Cernosek, Interim Assistant Director of Public Works for the City of Dallas, said that a complaint had recently been processed. This sidewalk issue is now a top priority for the new federally-funded 'safe routes to school' transportation program. "That will eventually construct new sidewalks at the schools," Cernosek said.
The DISD would not discuss the details of this program, but the city said that about $400,000 of the federal funds will provide more than a mile of sidewalk near the school, complete with school zone signs and handicap ramps.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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