ATLANTA — As more and more students head back to school, safety is among the top concerns for parents.
Parents at one northeast Atlanta middle school say a new addition has made it safer for students to walk in the morning.
Channel 2's Audrey Washington learned Inman Middle School has added new flashing lights at the crosswalk. They let drivers know when students are walking across the street.
Washington spoke with school officials and parents, who all said the flashing light crosswalk was way overdue.
Parents said students often walk or bike to school in the morning.
The new crosswalk is pedestrian-activated. Students just press the button and the crosswalk lights up at the top, alerting drivers immediately.
"The traffic has increased so much in town and it’s critical that we have this installed for the kids’ safety,” said parent Cathy Lepik.
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"We know these provisions are going to allow kids to cross the street safely in a place that has a lot of traffic and make sure our kids can get to school safe every day," said Atlanta Public Schools official David Jernigan.
Officials plan to study other school zones in the metro area with the goal of getting to and from school safer.
"We hope that this is the start of a new partnership that we can expand in the district,” Jernigan said. “We have many of our schools that have traffic around it and we work really hard to make those streets safe for our kids."
Cox Media Group
