Parents At Tenafly School Complain Of Unsafe Area To Pick Up Students
TENAFLY, N.J. (CBS 2) -- Parents at a suburban school in New Jersey say the roads around the school are dangerous and they need sidewalks.
Residents, however, responded by saying, "not in our front yard," reports CBS 2's Christine Sloan.
When school gets out at the J. Spencer Smith Elementary School in Tenafly, some students and parents have to walk in the middle of Downey Drive, dodging cars.
"Actually, we have to walk through the grass, through the cars," resident Rita Ben-Ari said.
Parents said it can lead to some scary moments as cars line up and pull out.
"I usually walk as close as I can to the cars and get them in as quickly as possible, before another car comes," resident Bianca Gizzo said.
The situation has become so much of a problem that the borough of Tenafly commissioned a study to see what needs to be done. One recommendation was to put sidewalks on Downey Drive.
"I think it would be easier for the kids, safer," resident Tanya Kaloudov said. "We are all going in between cars."
Residents like Karen Einsidler, though, are against it.
"I think it's a mistake," she said. "It's really a traffic issue."
Einsidler and other residents said they don't want sidewalks running through their front lawns.
"There's a lot of trees they'll have to knock down, the telephone polls are there," she said.
In addition to the sidewalk recommendation, the study suggested adding another crossing guard, more signs on the road, and the option to pick up kids on the other side of the school.
In a statement, the administrator said the borough is working with schools on a solution and that "the Borough Council is now reviewing this information to decide what options to implement."
"There's been a need for sidewalks for many years," one resident said.
It remained unclear Monday when a decision would be made. Meanwhile, police continued to close off a street perpendicular to Downey Drive to make sure students were safe.
While some residents said the situation at the school has been an issue for many years, they also said it's the first time the borough has commissioned a study with plans to take some sort of action.
