While many students will soon be off for Christmas break, contractors have work left to do between Mayport Elementary and Middle Schools.
A concerned parent and district teacher reached out to Jacksonville city councilmember Rory Diamond concerned there were not enough sidewalks near the two schools. The sidewalks that were there were cracked and uneven.
Diamond thanks Public Works for stepping up and getting to work.
“She reached out and said 'hey our kids can’t get to school safely because there’s no sidewalk,' literally no sidewalk for stretches," Diamond said.
That call was at the beginning of the year. Diamond, who presides over District 3, then took his concerns to Public Works. He initially didn't have good news for the teacher.
“They said the line and the list is like two years long to get things fixed and I had to go back to this mom and say no, it’s going to take us a while,” Diamond said.
He credits Jacksonville Public Works for dropping other projects and getting this sidewalk fixed. Crews are adding some 730 feet to the sidewalk, including replacing some of the damage pieces that were already in place.
“I would say two months is actually fast for government work which breaks my heart, but it is what it is," Diamond said. "This one we were able to say listen -- kids safety is more important than whatever else is going on and we got the job done."
Tara Knoop, a parent, knows what it’s like to walk down that sidewalk.
“I went to that school and that was so many years ago," she said. “Its got dips, its got cracks.”
It's a sidewalk that she’s happy to see getting fixed, so children like her seven-year-old daughter Tatiana will have a smoother walk and ride home.
“Redoing it is actually a good thing," she said. "For safety reasons, kids be walking home and stuff, people don’t pay attention. Kids won’t be falling, it’s just beneficial."
Contractors told First Coast News they expect to get more work done once children are on break and expect to complete the project by Christmas.