Lee County school district program to improve bus stop safety

Writer: Jack Lowenstein
Published: Updated:
Seal of the School District of Lee County. Photo via WINK News.
Seal of the School District of Lee County. Credit: WINK News.

Lee County school district is working on a program to keep children safe at school bus stops.

Excitement filled the room, as Superintendent Greg Adkins gave his state of the school address Friday. Adkins reported improvement of grades for students and schools and a high graduation rate.

But Erin Diaz, a mother of two, is not cheering on the school safety plan for kids at school bus stops.

“I would love to see them do sidewalks,” Diaz said. “I hear more about our city, but I want to know a better county. Lehigh has a tremendous need for this.”

And that’s exactly what Adkins said he will push for.

“Putting benches out there, lighting out there, sidewalks, we really have a need for sidewalks in Cape Coral, Lehigh,” Adkins said.

Adkins said that’s just the start. The district is also putting together an education program this summer. Designed to inform and encourage cooperation and trust between the schools and the neighborhoods they serve.

“If we can actually work with our community and make sure that we have somebody at the bus stop is particularly when we have our younger students, I think that would go a long way,” Adkins said.

Adkins said said we are already seeing what cooperation can do in Cape Coral, where the city pledged to add more benches, sidewalks and lighting. He said he hopes to work with other municipalities to get similar results.

The changes follow two tragic deaths we have reported on for months. There are still no arrests for drivers who hit and killed 12-year-old Alana Tamplin in January and 8-year-old Layla Aiken in March.

Cape Coral City Council meets Monday to report the public progress it has made to enhance school bus safety.

“I truly don’t know what the answer is, but working together, we can really come up with a good community effort,” Diaz said.

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