Parents worried about lack of sidewalks on some Clarksville students’ routes to school

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — As the school year kicks off, the City of Clarksville is unveiling improvements in two major sidewalk projects. Although those additions are giving peace of mind to some parents, others have concerns about the walking routes for their students.

This year, a flashing crosswalk and new sidewalk are ready to greet students along Cunningham Lane. Repaved roads and new sidewalks are also just around the corner for Peachers Mill Road, coming by the end of 2024, according to the Clarksville Street Department.

On the other side of town, however, students still lack sidewalks on their routes to school along parts of Needmore Road and Hazelwood Road.

“As a parent, knowing that my 7-year-old’s going to have to walk on her own, it is very, very nerve-racking. I’m scared every single day,” Pisgah Elementary parent David Metz said. “That walk is quite nerve-racking for her, knowing she has to walk along this road here, that it gets very close, especially very close to the school right there, that these cars come around a blind curve and she’s not sure if the cars are going to get her or not.”

For elementary students living within a mile of their school, and middle and high school students living within a mile and a half, normally it’s the parents’ responsibility to get them to school, instead of the district sending buses. City officials told News 2 the change was made due to school bus driver shortages.

The Clarksville-Montgomery County School System (CMCSS) will provide transportation for students who need to walk along four or more lanes of traffic without a crossing guard, roads less than 24 feet wide with speeds above 35 mph, and roads without sidewalks and with speeds above 35 mph.

However, Metz hopes local leaders will take a closer look at the lack of sidewalks around Clarksville and seek a solution.

“Look at all the highly-dense areas where these schoolchildren, especially the elementary schoolchildren are, and reevaluate their plans of when they’re going to put sidewalks in or possibly even other safety measures,” he said.

Clarksville Street Department Director David Smith said major improvements are on the way, but still several years out. Once Needmore Road is complete, his department plans to begin working on Hazelwood Road. In the meantime, Smith said his department is looking into adding smaller sidewalk segments as a temporary fix.

“Needmore Road’s a major widening project. It’s presently a two-lane road; it’ll be a three- to a five-lane road depending on which segment, but it also includes a multi-modal path, which is a 10-foot-wide path for bikes and other modes of transportation, and a 5-foot sidewalk on the opposite side,” Smith explained.

City Councilwoman Karen Reynolds tried to help improve the problem last year, with an ordinance that would require any new homes to also come with new sidewalks. Although her ordinance didn’t pass, she said the lack of sidewalks was no one person’s fault, and the city is doing the best it can with the resources available. She encouraged parents with concerns to reach out to their school board representative and county commissioner.

“If you don’t tell someone or bring it to the attention of the leadership, they may not realize the danger, or they may be able to do a workaround with the community, as well,” Reynolds said.

READ MORE | Latest headlines from Clarksville and Montgomery County

CMCSS provided the following statement to News 2:

The CMCSS Operations Department is continuously evaluating each school’s Parent Responsibility Zone (PRZ). With ongoing growth in our community and infrastructure changes, the CMCSS Operations Department has made modifications to schools’ PRZs over the past few years to address safety concerns. Below is general information about PRZs from our website:

State law establishes that school districts may provide school transportation for children who live more than 1 ½ miles from their zoned school. The radius of the parent responsibility zone (PRZ), the area in which families are responsible for providing transportation (car rider, walker, etc.), in CMCSS is:

— 1 mile for elementary students

— 1 ½ miles for middle and high school students

Exceptions:

For student safety, transportation will still be provided for students who live in the PRZ under the following travel conditions:

— 4 or more lanes of traffic without a crossing guard

— Roads with insufficient road width (less than 24 ft.) with speeds above 35 mph

— Roads with no sidewalks with speeds above 35 mph

Notes:

— The PRZ does not impact students who receive Special Populations transportation services as indicated in their IEPs.

— Any future development within the PRZ that has accessible safe travel paths may not be eligible for CMCSS transportation.

— If a daycare is in the PRZ, CMCSS will not provide transportation.

— CMCSS leaders have continued to meet with leaders of the City of Clarksville, and they are focusing on sidewalk additions/improvements in several areas of the city in their Transportation 2020+ plan .

Please note that we started the school year with over 80% of our bus driver positions filled. This is an improvement from 50% staffing three years ago. While we have experienced improvements with retention and recruitment, we still have a need for bus drivers. We have increased the starting pay from $16.21/hour in 2021 to $21.49/hour today. Please help us spread the word! For more information, please visit https://www.cmcss.net/busdrivers/ .

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