JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Matthew Lawrence, eight, is recovering from getting hit by a car. He was riding his bike from school when a car hit him and left the scene on the 4600 block of Lambing Road.
While he's expecting surgery soon, people who live in the neighborhood expressed how drivers make it dangerous for kids. Neighbors said the child would routinely ride his bike to school. However, there are no sidewalks for him to safely ride on.
It is not uncommon to see people riding their bikes in the Westside neighborhood. A major concern for residents is excessive speeding. They said drivers will fly through the neighborhood all through the day and night. To people who live on Lambing Road, sidewalks would be helpful.
First Coast News reached out to the city council president, Sam Newby, he suggested contacting one's district council-person. In this case, it would be Councilwoman Brenda Priestly Jackson. Newby suggested residents to inquire about having sidewalks through the CIP or Capital Improvement Plan.
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According to the City of Jacksonville, the CIP is a project "that involve construction that is meant to last at least 10 years, have an estimated construction cost of more than $100,000." Every year, Newby said the mayor has projects that are completed in various districts.
"You can put into a place a couple of years down the road to get more sidewalks to a neighborhood," Newby explained. "We're gonna be getting more sidewalks in the neighborhood, so hopefully this won't happen again."
Neighbors also suggested speed bumps to encourage drivers to slow down. If possible, they mentioned how they would want a devise set up nearby to showcase how fast a driver is going.