County unveils safer walkways for elementary school
More than 600 kids at Millie G. Munsey Elementary came back from spring break last month to find central walkways that were normally covered in dirt, graffiti and vagrants suddenly replaced with neat concrete and roses.
County officials gathered outside the elementary school Monday to celebrate completion of two new walkways, totaling 200 feet, for use by students.
The project, funded by about $104,000 in state grant money, is small in scale compared with other projects across the county. Kern Public Works Assistant Director Salvador Gomez said the county has completed 70 miles of bike lanes in the past five years and is scheduled to pave about 40 miles of sidewalk.
The improvements were split into two separate projects, with one located west of the school from Stine Road to Cherokee Drive on Brave Avenue and the other on the east side from South Real Road to Mona Way.
Bollards were also put in place to prevent cars and carts from being brought through.
“This may seem like a small school project to some, but for our school community it’s a huge project,” said Sarah Riess, the school’s principal. “Our students deserve this safe walk to and from school.”
The issue was first brought to the county’s attention by Lisa Smith, a local resident and steward who frequents public meetings. According to Smith, cars barreling by are cross-town traffickers, products of the closure of nearby entrances and exits to Highway 58.
“So these cars go zipping down to get to Ming (Avenue) to get to the freeway,” Smith said.
Millie G. Munsey Elementary is a walking school, meaning there are no buses that pick up and drop off students each day. From their neighborhoods within a mile radius of the school, hundreds of kids make this walk every day, crossing busy streets and dodging the occasional homeless encampment or squatter house. The two paths act as the school's juncture, whereby students flow in from the surrounding neighborhood.
Yet in the eight years Riess has worked at Munsey Elementary, little to no public investment has come to the area.
“As long as I’ve been here, we’ve been dealing with the walkways,” Riess said.
Their improvements are the first of many she would like to see, with her mind set on getting flashing beacons placed at the school crosswalks.
“The cars come so fast on this street,” Riess said. “They zoom by all day long, even while kids are trying to cross.”
“Is it going to take, you know, someone to get hit to have that happen,” Riess said. “We don’t want that to happen … but this is a good sign.”
