Some Jacksonville parents worry it will be too dangerous for their kids to get to their new bus stop this year.<\/p>\n
Cody Zastrocky is one of them. He has three kids split between Kernan Trail Elementary School and Kernan Middle School. His family lives off the eastbound side of Beach Boulevard, in the Sans Pareil neighborhood, but just learned his kids will have to cross the six-lane road to get to their school bus this year.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese kids can\u2019t cross six lanes, especially kindergarteners and first graders,\u201d Zastrocky said.<\/p>\n
Zastrocky tells Action News Jax the bus stop has been at a strip mall at the entrance to his neighborhood for years. After seeing this year\u2019s school bus routes for his kids, he realized the stop had been moved to the Monterey condo complex on the other side of the road.<\/p>\n
Zastrocky\u2019s house is about a half-mile walk from the nearest crosswalk and he worries it\u2019ll be too risky to let his kids make the mile-long walk to their new bus stop.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know who at the school district would look at that and think that it was safe for kids to cross six lanes with no crosswalks, no stoplights, but it seems like that\u2019s what happened,\u201d said Zastrocky.<\/p>\n
The Florida Department of Transportation estimates an average of 52,000 cars drive along Beach Boulevard any day. Since the six-lane road is separated by a median, Florida law says drivers heading down the other side of the road from the school bus won\u2019t have to stop for it.<\/p>\n
Zastrocky worries it\u2019ll be too much traffic and too much danger to let his kids take the bus this year.<\/p>\n
\u201cTime and time again, it happens every year. We have accidents with kids that are completely avoidable,\u201d Zastrocky said, \u201cthere needs to be some attention paid to it.\u201d<\/p>\n
We\u2019ve reached out to Duval County Public Schools asking if another bus stop will be added to Beach Boulevard to address the safety concerns. We\u2019ve also asked the Florida Highway Patrol for all the crash reports along Beach Boulevard, involving kids, over the last year, and are still waiting for responses for both requests.<\/p>\n
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