A SAFE PLACE TO WALK

By Billy Ortiz

Video and pictures by Billy Ortiz 

March 4, 2013 (Lakeside)--Children at the Lakeview School area in Lakeside now have a safer place to walk to school. To see a video of the sidewalk development process here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=saUjx_WTvMY.

Lakeview PTA mom Kelly Bailey and her staff submitted grant requests to Safe Routes to School, San Diego County. Lakeview Elementary school received $1. 6 million to construct safe sidewalks on two sides of the school that are adjacent to Lakeview Road and East Lakeview Road. Bailey was tired of walking in the mud and in the street with her children while cars took up the sidewalk space creating a dangerous environment. According to Brian Penning, Public information Officer for the California Highway Patrol, every year, many are injured or even killed because of public safety issues with pedestrians, especially in the East County of San Diego where many schools were built without the need for sidewalks.

Thanks to the hard work and dedication of Bailey and her team, Lakeview school children and parents can now feel a little safer. The team did surveys, conducted walk studies, and even partnered up with organizations like http://www.walksandiego.org/ to achieve their goals.

Sidewalks will be done in three phases. Phase one is still under way which includes the continuation of the sidewalks northward on Lakeview Road. Phase two will be on the west side of Lakeview Road. Phase three will be a section alone Lakeview Rd. down to Hahana Road. There is much work to be done on both sides of Lakeview Road that is scheduled to continue later this year.

Mrs. Rhonda Taylor, Principal of Lakeview Elementary School, staff and students came out to the new sidewalks on Friday to celebrate with a ribbon cutting ceremony that signaled the end of the dirt sidewalks and the beginning of a new safer way to school.

PTA staff members involved in this important project are Kelly Bailey, Sue Ringen, Kelly Dietrich, Nylea Smith, and Janine Semanscin  who thank Mrs. Rhonda Taylor for pointing them in the right direction.