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A group of parents in Eagle Mountain say they're worried the walk for their children going to school is downright treacherous.
Nisha Murray can walk up the street from her home and see the elementary school; only she says it's not safe for children to walk there. The most direct way is across a dirt path. She says, "We've got a huge ravine that, we know, fills up in the winter time with snow, and in the spring time it floods."
The safer route is along a major roadway. Murray says this path isn't much safer than the direct way to the school because it is lined with an electric fence. She says, "We have an electrical fence. It is working. It does have a shock that I got this morning, as myself, being able to test it."
The Alpine School District says it walked the path near the road and feels it's safe.
Rhonda Bromley, district spokeswoman, said, "There is no private property that students need to go through in order to get to school. There is no large river wash gorge that has been suggested for students to use. All of the suggested safe paths are either asphalt, sidewalk, or 70 yards of dirt. The electric fence that has been referred to has been cut. There is no amplification on either end."
The district also says most of the homes fall within 1.5 miles, which means a bus isn't required by state guidelines. But the parents say just because they live on the edge of the 1.5 miles doesn't make the walk safe. They say the path near the road is treacherous in the wintertime because of the strong winds and storms that blow through the area and the lack of street lights.
E-mail: rjeppesen@ksl.com
