Stepping up for student safety, Southside Independent School District is finally getting the sidewalks its been fighting for. After years of concerns about kids navigating dangerous roadways to get to school, Bexar County is ponying up $150,000 to lay down sidewalks along Martinez Losoya Road, the district's superintendent Rolando Ramirez confirmed. The stretch outside the main campus, including Losoya Middle School, Pearce Elementary, and Southside High School, has been a risk zone for the 2,800 pupils who trek to and from school daily.
"We were seeing our students walking along the road. That was very unsafe," Ramirez told KENS 5. The decision follows a resolution passed by the school board last June and garnered backing from Texas Rep. John Lujan and Sen. Roland Gutierrez. Lujan, a local resident, didn't mince words, adding, "we shouldn’t have to wait for there to be an incident, or worse, to do the right thing."
Video evidence reviewed played a crucial role in highlighting the issue. A review done by the San Antonio Report shows students darting in and out of car traffic, a gamble with their lives just to get to school. While the new sidewalks on Martinez Losoya Road are a step in the right direction, U.S. Highway 281, another perilous stretch for students, won’t see the same improvement despite a TxDOT feasibility study. The agency cited increased sidewalk traffic as a potential hazard due to the high vehicle flow on 281. Still, the possibility isn't off the table for the future, depending on the district's growth.
Construction is set to begin over the summer with an end goal of completion by the next school year. "We’re grateful for all the parties who have been involved here to try to help us keep our kids and community safe," district spokeswoman Sylvia Rincon told the San Antonio Report. The support from county and state officials has knit a community effort into a tangible pathway to safer school commutes for students and parents alike.
