Sidewalks for Ledyard Schools [OPINION]

As technology has gotten better, cars have gotten faster, and roads have gotten more dangerous. Walking down the road behind the high school, one is forced to practically walk in the grass to avoid the perils of irresponsible driving adults and newly-licensed student drivers.

The answer to this is sidewalks. Sidewalks are a great benefit to communities by providing safe and more environmentally friendly methods of transportation and making an area more aesthetic. Furthermore, adding sidewalks may encourage students to walk to local places of business, and may benefit the local economy and keep students fit.

The most obvious benefit of sidewalks is safety. Although some may have an “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” attitude, when it concerns safety of school students, communities shouldn’t take any chances. According to pedestrians.org, a girl in Fairfax County, Virginia was killed in a car crash walking to Bailey Elementary School.

Soon after, the county built sidewalks. Sidewalks should be a prevention of these accidents rather than a memorial to those who needed them. A good way to determine if an area is in need of sidewalks is to apply the tricycle test. If you would allow a toddler to ride a tricycle down a road, then it’s safe. If not, it is in need of sidewalks.

Many students in Ledyard who have walked on the roads near the school have experiences of nearly being run over as cars speed past. According to a survey we conducted over a quarter of the school either walks to school or is involved in sports teams that could benefit from sidewalks.

These students would be immensely safer with the addition of sidewalks. If you, too, believe that Ledyard should fund the implementation of sidewalks near schools, then go to http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/sidewalks-for-ledyard-community-benefit and sign our petition.