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Westchester Elementary launches Scott Blvd. safety petition

Decatur

Westchester Elementary launches Scott Blvd. safety petition

Pictures taken by Westchester parent Jennifer Belew of students walking to the school from Garden Lane.
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Pictures taken by Westchester parent Jennifer Belew of students walking to the school from Garden Lane.

Pictures taken by Westchester parent Jennifer Belew of students walking to the school from Garden Lane.

Westchester Elementary has launched a petition asking to make Scott Boulevard safer.

In September, the City of Decatur elementary school held Walk & Roll, an event to encourage walking, but also highlight the traffic dangers on Scott Boulevard.

But parents and school officials say that’s not enough, so they created a Change.org petition.

It says in part, “Despite numerous programs sponsored by the school system to encourage walking, parents are scared to walk their children to school along Scott for fear of serious injury. The sidewalks are narrow with little to no buffer between the sidewalk and the road. In addition, there is inadequate standing room at crosswalks for students waiting for the light to change.”

The petition says Westchester, which reopened in 2014 after being closed for 10 years, created a safety committee comprised of school leaders and parents. The committee has met with Decatur city officials and the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) and created a list of projects, including slowing down traffic on Scott between Clairemont and Coventry Roads and providing funding for traffic direction at Westchester as students are arriving and leaving.

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The petition cites statistics gathered by Decaturish which found Scott Boulevard led the city in speeding tickets between January 2013 and April 2015.

Organizers are hoping to get 1,000 signatures, and they say you don’t have to live in Decatur to sign the petition. There were about 500 signatures at last check. In the petition, the safety committee says the unsafe conditions are an issue for the whole community, not just the school.

Earlier this year, there was a fatal accident on Scott Boulevard. A Lakeside High student was driving a rented Dodge Charger more than 100 miles per hour when he struck and killed a teacher who worked at his school.

GDOT recently asked the community for input on the safety of Scott.

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Dena Mellick

Dena Mellick is the Associate Editor of Decaturish.com.

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