The increasing problem of pedestrian safety

The American Press

There’s no question that Southwest Louisiana has hit a growth spurt, and that means more drivers on the roads. 

This not only has implications for traffic and road conditions, but also for the safety of our children walking to and from school. Add to that construction on the Interstate 10 bridge and the tendency of cellphones to take our eyes off the road, and the likelihood of an accident seems high. 

Just this month three students have been hit by a car on their way to school during two separate incidents.

On March 16, a car hit a 12-year-old girl on Burton Street in Sulphur while she was crossing the road to board a school bus, leaving her in critical condition. A week later, two students suffered moderate injuries after being hit by a car while using a crosswalk on West McNeese Street on their way to Barbe High School. 

“When the incident happened the other day at Barbe, we immediately started having internal conversations about the safety of our youth,” said Mayor Nic Hunter at a City Council agenda meeting on Tuesday, saying city officials are working with the Calcasieu Parish School Board, law enforcement and the state transportation department on improvements.

The incident at Barbe prompted police to visit every campus in city limits to identify issues and speak with school administrators about ramping up safety measures, Deputy Chief Mark Kraus told the council. School Board spokeswoman Holly Holland said officials are “grateful to have area agencies working jointly on such an important matter.” 

Back in February, the city asked the state to consider improvements to the intersection of McNeese Street and Nelson Road to ensure students are safe when crossing the street, and the state agreed to install pedestrian signal heads and push buttons, according to a news release on Thursday.

Additionally, the city is installing sidewalks from Barbe High School east to Nelson Road on the north. When units are available, the Lake Charles police will provide a motor officer visible near school zones during pickup and drop-off times, the release said.

It’s encouraging to know that local leaders have boots on the ground looking for potential issues, and that improvements are on the way.

But there’s only so much these groups can do. The rest of it will come in the form of education: both of drivers and students.

Drivers need to learn to put down their cellphones, pay attention to school zones, and keep pedestrians in mind, even when traffic gets frustrating. And students need to look both ways before crossing and keep to sidewalks and crosswalks. 

As local leaders do their part, let’s do ours by staying alert and keeping our responsibility to others in mind.

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