Hollister
– Construction on the Highway 25 bypass has local teachers
concerned about safety of students on their way to school.
Hollister – Construction on the Highway 25 bypass has local teachers concerned about safety of students on their way to school.
Jan Grist addressed the Hollister School District Board of Trustees on Tuesday for the Hollister Elementary School Teachers’ Association voicing concern about safety of elementary and middle school students walking to and from school.
Grist said she worried the presence of large construction equipment and the absence of sidewalks in many areas could endanger children.
“It’s a mess there, and I don’t know how these kids are going to walk,” said Grist, vice president of grievance for HESTA and a past president. “I think they forgot about the children.”
The bypass, scheduled to be finished by November 2008, will reroute highway traffic from San Benito Street to a new road east of McCray street.
Administrators and board members said they plan to work with the Council of Governments, the agency in charge of the bypass project, to ensure there are safe routes by the time school starts in August.
“We’ve got a little bit of a window because we have three, four weeks before school starts, but it has to be addressed,” Board President Alice Flores said.
Superintendent Ron Crates is planning to work with the contractor and COG to reach the best possible solution.
The schools of most concern are Sunnyslope, Gabilan Hills, Rancho San Justo and Maze, Grist said. In many areas, the routes to these schools are obstructed by construction, she noted.
Grist is worried that with the absence of sidewalks in many places, students will walk in streets to get to school. She also worries the large construction equipment will pose dangers to small children, she said.
The contractor has already installed a few temporary asphalt sidewalks, COG Executive Director Lisa Rheinheimer said, and COG would be willing to put more in.
“Our No. 1 priority is, it has to be safe,” Rheinheimer said.
She said COG is willing to work with districts to ensure children’s safety, but a certain amount of disruption is to be expected with the bypass construction.
“The general public at large was taken into consideration (with the bypass) – that includes schools, businesses and people living nearby,” Rheinheimer said. “We understand that it’s going to cause a certain number of disruptions to people’s daily lives and we’re trying to minimize it as much as possible.”
San Benito County Office of Education Superintendent Tim Foley said he’s confident the problems will be addressed by the start of school.
“I just look at this as an opportunity for all of us to work together during a major improvement to our community,” he said. “There must be a lot of potential solutions we can come up with.”
The groups might have to look at alternative routes for the students, Flores said. She added that education would be a big part of addressing the safety concerns.
“People need to realize that kids don’t belong by the heavy equipment,” Flores said.
Whatever the solution, administrators, board members and teachers hope one is reached by Aug. 20, when school starts.
“We don’t want to impede the progress, but we don’t want to put the children in danger,” Grist said.
