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SANDY — Some parents in a Salt Lake County neighborhood are happy about a new school opening near them but concerned about students getting there safely.
Students will be required to cross 11400 South, where traffic recently has increased dramatically with the addition of a Scheels store, a new freeway exit and a TRAX station.
In the fall, Heidi Davenport's boys will have a 25-minute commute on foot to class each day. That is, if their parents will let them walk.
"I would not allow my kids to walk to school not knowing what's happening on that mile walk," Davenport said.
The Davenports live in Cranberry Hill, on the border of Sandy and Draper. Currently, the kids are bussed to a school several miles away. But next year, the kids will attend Crescent Elementary, 11100 S. 230 East, which is north of and much closer to their home.
Heidi and her husband, Curt, are thrilled about the new school. But they are not thrilled that the kids are expected to walk just under a mile and a half and across 11400 South.
That is so scary to me to think that they're going to have kids cross that street. It's so busy.
–Heidi Davenport
"That is so scary to me to think that they're going to have kids cross that street. It's so busy," Davenport said.
"Now to get to school, the kids from Cranberry Hill will have to pass four lanes of traffic on a very busy street," said another concerned mom, Chantal Lapicola. "The cars just drive way too fast."
Canyons School District spokesman Jeff Haney said the district is working with the city to provide crossing guards. Parents want a bus, but they live just under the distance cutoff. At a minimum, they want flashing lights and markings for a school zone.
The district said neither of those things are planned; however, they are examining the best way to get the kids to school safely.
"Everything is on the table," Haney said. "We can talk about that with our partners and see what we can come up with."
Haney said the district has been working closely with the cities to find the very best route possible.
