BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – DESPITE statements coming from some teachers at the George Moody Stewart (Factory)School, some parents are of the view that a pedestrian crossing should be established and manned in the vicinity of the roads leading to the school to facilitate the safety of children attending the learning institution.
The school is housed in the Factory Social Centre at Kittstoddart and is easily accessible via two main routes from the Island Main Road (IMR). The routes are the two roads that run southwards which either lead directly to the school yard’s opening or several meters away.
At the start of each school day, parents and guardians can be seen transporting their children to the institution, and having disembarked the pupils will walk just a few feet from the vehicles to access their school and classrooms. And as the day ends, the process is reversed.
While most of the students would have this privilege, there is that small minority that does not have access to such amenities and would have to either walk their children to and from school or utilise public transport.
And of course, in order to access the school premises, these parents and their children would have to get from one side of the IMR to the next. And with simply getting oncoming traffic to stop to allow persons to pass as difficult a task as it is, the placement of a pedestrian crossing and a crossing guard – according to some parents - could aid this process.
The predicament however is in the fact that the pedestrian crossing closest to the school’s access roads is located in the vicinity of the SOL Gas Station, S. L. Horsford’s Complex, about 200 meters away. This means – for example – that a parent travelling from the east would have to disembark public transportation at the bus stop in vicinity of the Credit Union and walk to the pedestrian crossing, cross the road, then make their way to the school.
One could argue that this is not necessarily the route that has to be taken, for parents can opt to take the additional risk by crossing the road without the aid of a pedestrian crossing/crossing guard.
Silence on the issue was broken recently as a number of parents sought assistance of this media house in finding out if the situation could be remedied.
SKNVibes spoke with a few staff members of the school, most of whom indicated that the better part of the pupil body is brought directly to the compound by private transport, while some admitted that there are those who do not have that luxury and would benefit from a pedestrian crossing with a crossing guard.
This publication contacted the Head of the Police Force’s Traffic Department, Inspector Carl Caines, who explained that the issue had not been brought to the Department’s attention until now.
Caines said he understands the seriousness of it and while he could not guarantee the placement of a crossing, consideration would be given to the issue.
He however added that if a pedestrian crossing were to be placed and a crossing guard stationed to man it, it would have to be in the vicinity of the bus stop that is closest to the school’s access roads.
