A state without vision
published: Wednesday | January 28, 2004
THE EDITOR, Sir;
IT IS sad that a young girl is now dead because of the state's lack of vision. It seems to me that the NWA's argument that the placement of a pedestrian crossing on the road in front of Merl Grove would be unsafe for pedestrians due to the roadway's heavy traffic flow does not adequately address the problem faced by these students on a daily basis. To state that the school was advised by the NWA that it was safer to use a pedestrian crossing located at the stop light just a few metres away, is equally inadequate.
The fact of the matter is that there is a bus stop directly across from Merl Grove's front gate where students disembark. It is both impractical and unfair to expect that a student, particularly one who is already late for school, to further impede her arrival at school by having to walk a few metres away from school, in order to cross the road. It seems to me that there was a lack of foresight on the NWA in not concluding that an overhead crossing bridge at this busy five-lane roadway would have been necessary given the factors which existed.
The crossing bridge on Washington Boulevard has proved very effective in preventing pedestrian-related accidents on this busy roadway. It is highly unfortunate that the state drags its foot on or neglects a situation until a major incident/accident occurs and it is then forced to do what it should've in the first place. The fatal accident which occurred on Jan. 23 should also send a strong message to all drivers that we must be extra careful when driving in school districts. Build an overhead crossing!
