At least five schools in Hillsborough County are expected to see new sidewalks installed to help keep kids safe from passing cars.
Stowers Elementary should see a sidewalk installed along the west side of Boyette Rd from Gentle Wood Ave to S of Barrington Stowers Drive.
It's a busy, two-lane road that is very near a large housing community. Hundreds of kids walk from Stowers Elementary every day.
Summerfield Elementary should also have a new sidewalk installed on Big Bend Rd. from Heritage Green Pkwy to E of Heritage Green Pkwy.
Eisenhower Middle School should have a sidewalk added along Old Big Bend Rd., from west of Covington Garden Drive to Lincoln Rd.
Cypress Creek Elementary is also expected to have a sidewalk installed from 19th Ave NE from W of Salida Del Sol Dr to Beth Shields Way. This could also benefit Shields Middle School just down the street.
That's a welcome relief to parents Dan Toyanbo and Nicole Carmen, who don't want to walk down 19th Ave NE to the local library.
They say the grass is uneven. Without a stroller for their two children, they say it's not safe for them to be walking so close to passing cars.
"I myself have seen kids walking, riding bikes on the grass and so forth," Toyanbo said. "It’s not really safe.”
These new sidewalk projects are all part of the Safe Routes to School Candidate Program for Hillsborough County.
Construction should start in Fiscal Year 2018, according to plans set by transportation leaders.
