Parent wants more done about safety for kids walking to school

If you’ve driven near the intersection of Ammon Road and Iona Road in Bonneville County, you have probably seen the lack of sidewalks and crosswalks. Well, one parent is saying enough is enough. He is concerned about kids’ safety as they walk to and from school.

“I see as I drive (that) children (are) having to walk through a narrow bridge, 2 feet from cars. Going across the bridge, I see them walking in the mud with nowhere to walk,” said Dan Hunting.

Hunting said he has driven though the intersection for years. He said nothing has been done to improve how kids get to and from school safely.

“It’s not just a Bonneville County problem. It’s not just a school district problem. We have to work together to solve some of these things,” said Lance Bates, the Public Works director for Bonneville County.

Because it is a county road, Bonneville School District 93 said that ultimately the county is responsible for the roads and sidewalks.

The district does say that they provide transportation for anyone with a safety concern.

“Because there aren’t sidewalks, we provide busing, but because the kids live so close, the kids just decide it’s quicker and easier to walk to school than jump on the school bus,” said Scott Woolstenhulme.

The school district has also created sidewalks from Bonneville High School that cut through the school’s fields to help kids travel safely to school.

Hunting still wants more done. He said he thinks the county needs to do something about other paths in the school zones.

“It’s owned by the county, and they have a responsibility to the public for public safety,” Hunting said. “Our children are part of that public safety.”

Bonneville County Public Works said it has tried to solve the problem in the past.

“Bonneville County and in conjunction with School District 93 applied for a grant a couple of years ago,” Bates said. “That project was not ranked high enough on the list to get funded.”

There are also budgeting issues that play out to fix problems like this.

The county said those who are driving through the area are not following the Idaho driver’s manual, which creates another safety problem.

“The driving public is not obeying the Idaho state laws as well as they should, because they’re all in hurry and they don’t want to yield when they should,” Bates said.

To that, parents said that there is not enough signage and lights to show where the school zone is.

“I’m afraid some kid is going to get hit,” Hunting said.

Parents want Bonneville County to show they are actively trying to make that walk to school safer.

The county said it will keep trying to find resources to create safer paths.

“We’ll continue to look for opportunities to get outside funding, and we’ll continue to look for internal ways to fund programs,” Bates said.