The most
boring subject imaginable for a High School student to discuss has to be
something like infrastructure, right? So
it comes as a pleasant surprise to receive four well-written letters from four
different District 1 High School students, the subject of which
is—Infrastructure!
(I’m not
going to publish the letters or the name of the students because they are all
minors. I’ll use their first names only
as I describe the letters. Additionally,
I am unable to respond to these students individually because the return
address they've all used is the school’s address—and it is summer. But rest
assured, the issues they have raised with me, I will discuss with staff J )
Aaron is
very concerned about the area around Chemstrand Road. From Aaron’s letter “sidewalks should be built through this area, on both sides of the
road. I have a friend, named XXXXXXXXX
who was struck by a vehicle earlier this year while walking to his bus
stop. He was thrown almost 30 feet,
breaking both legs and suffering internal damage to his kidneys, liver, spleen,
and pancreas”
Lindsey
worries about a road near her home in Beulah. “I’m sure you are well aware, but there is a speeding problem on that
part of [Beulah] Road. Cars speed down
that
straight without a second thought, even though there are posted signs that
state the speed limit is 35 mph” she stated in her letter.
Dylan is
concerned about pedestrian safety as well, particularly along 9 Mile Road. From his letter “I am requesting that the county officials consider keeping pedestrians
safe by having sidewalks installed on Nine Mile Road in Beulah where road
widening projects are underway and especially near Beulah Middle School which
is still under construction. The fact is
that sidewalks can prevent pedestrians from being injured or even killed by
motorists. For every 100,000 citizens
living in Florida, 2.96 pedestrians were killed on Florida roads in 2015 which has
a highest rate in of the fifty states [sic].”
Noah has
keyed in to a very acute traffic issue in Escambia County: Pine Forest Road between I-10 and Nine Mile Road, where the road goes from
two lanes down to one. “During peak traffic times this single lane
causes traffic to back up for miles.
Although the merging can cause traffic to be at a standstill, it can
also be very usage in some situations.
As a driver I have witnessed many instances where merging cars attempts
[sic] to fit in the smallest of spaces forcing the car in the lane to slam on
brakes which then causes many other cars behind them to brake very sharply as
well.”
I appreciate
the fact that these students have taken the time and the initiative to send
their county commissioner infrastructure issues of importance to them. And all of these items are either currently
being planned or looked at by staff.
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