ST JOHNS, Fla. — A car crash along the St. John Parkway Monday is bringing attention to the petition parents of Liberty Pines Academy created to make the student's commute to school safer.
Residents of the St. John’s Forest neighborhood told First Coast News they didn’t know their development did not have a bus to get their students to school until they moved in.
They were then forced to choose between their children walking over a busy four-lane highway or becoming responsible for all of their transportation to and from school.
Mother of five, Kimberly Reach, can't drive her children to school every day because of work. She said she has her kids to send videos of them walking and getting to school safely for peace of mind.
“It makes me worried and since it is such a long path with very poor conditions, I mean, it's really loud here. It's hard for kids to be aware of their surroundings and that it's just not something I'm comfortable with,” she explained.
Being an active duty military family, there are times during the school year were Reach has to get her kids to school by herself and wait in the car drop off line that stops moving traffic a mile away.
Although families like Reach’s live within two miles of Liberty Pines Academy, on some days it can take up to an hour just to get her four kids to and from school walking or driving.
Reach created a petition to bring a bus to their neighborhood, highlighting how it will not only keep her kids and their classmates safe, but also reduce the traffic during dismissal.
Given the frequent crashes on 9B and the St. John’s Parkway, Reach worries about the days where her kids have to walk to school.
“I would really like to get these buses reinstated," Reach said. "But even if that's not the outcome that happens and they do nothing yet again and they just push it to the side yet again, I feel like having this documentation, having awareness on this is super important. If the worst case scenario does happen and someone is injured, the officials are not going to be able to say that they weren't aware of this issue.”
Florida law states that a bus does not need to be provided for students who live within two miles of the school.
As of Tuesday, the petition has more than 300 hundred signatures.