A teachers’ union raised concerns about safety of kids walking to and from school near the Highway 25 bypass construction.
The Hollister School District and the Council of Governments overseeing the project not only listened, but they also swiftly devised a plan to address the problem.
In doing so, the two groups took a proactive stance on a potentially serious safety issue and have taken steps toward fixing it and, thus, avoiding disaster.
Representing the Hollister Elementary School Teachers’ Assocation, middle school teacher Jan Grist addressed the board of trustees in late July and vented about a perceived safety deficiency along the construction route where school kids often walk. She particularly complained about the large equipment nearby and a lack of sidewalks.
Since that meeting, COG and district officials have met and decided to install temporary sidewalks when those that are near the bypass must close, and rails to keep pedestrians farther from construction activity. In some places, there will be temporary crosswalks, along with crossing guards on duty. Construction will be kept to a minimum from 7am to 9am when most kids are walking to school.
COG Transportation Manager Mary Dinkuhn also urged schools to educate parents about hazards near the route and how to avoid them. It’s a necessary, logical message on which the district plans to follow up by sending home fliers about construction safety. It also should be an emphasis during other interactions with parents, such as open house events.
Through these changes, COG and the district will increase public safety by simply lowering the tangible risks that inevitably accompany such a massive addition to the city. It’s scheduled for completion in November 2008 and will reroute highway traffic from San Benito Street to a road east of McCray Street.
This project is, after all, largely about safety and creating a more fluid path for drivers through Hollister, a more balanced scattering of traffic through town. Protecting our kids during its construction seems merely sensible, and, to our utmost ability, necessary.
So kudos to local teachers for broaching the topic and to COG and the school district for recognizing its seriousness and taking preventative action.
The next test for the agencies, however, is implementation of the corrective measures.
Government often gets tagged with a reputation for making progress at a painstaking pace. With school set to begin Monday for about 6,000 students in the Hollister School District, we urge COG and the school district to move quickly and, as they’ve done already by listening to the public, defy the stereotype.
