A local nonprofit and the Erie school district are partnering together to find ways to make walking to and from school safer for children.
However, they didn’t just talk about it — they laced up their sneakers and walked a heavily traveled route to see what safety challenges children face on a daily basis.
The president of United Way said safety is the top priority in a roundtable discussion to prevent the tragedy of another child.
Discussions of student safety on walking routes are being discussed between the United Way of Erie County and Erie School District with collaboration input from the Blue Coats, Erie School District Police Department and City of Erie Mayor Joe Schember.
“Progress has been made in some areas, but we still have some barriers to address because we want all of our kids to walk safely to school and get to school on time,” said Laurie Root, president, United Way of Erie County.
Roots added that the top priority of their discussion is safety, in order to prevent the tragedy of another student. Following the discussion, a walk along a frequently used walking route will take place.
“I’m sure you’ll see traffic and also a little bit of snow but not as much snow as sometimes they are facing. When there is a lot of snow, you would see unpaved sidewalks or maybe some obstacles where they might have to walk in the street,” Root said.
“We want to be proactive here and work with the community to make sure that our students are getting to school safe and ready to learn,” said Brian Polito, superintendent, Erie School District.
The supervisor of school and community safety said there is a call to action that the community can participate in for safer walking routes.
“Do your best to eliminate distracted driving and things such as that but reduce your speeds if possible around those areas. Be mindful that students are unpredictable as you’re coming up to intersections to really take that second look,” said Matthew Parker, supervisor of school and community safety, Erie School District.
Parker added that drivers should also remember to reduce their speeds during the hours of student drop-off and dismissal.