I was driving today behind a bumper sticker that read "I brake for the Oviedo chickens." It made me think. I love those chickens. I think they give our Oviedo community a certain uniqueness, a certain compassion for living things, a certain bond.
I remember when there were signs on State Road 434 in the middle of downtown Oviedo cautioning drivers to "watch for chickens" or "chicken crossing" or something like that. The signs aren't there anymore, but I love that I chose to live in a community that protects its' own, even if chickens don't pay taxes.
And then I started thinking...If we go to such lengths to protect our beloved Oviedo chickens why are we having to fight so desperately hard to protect our beloved Oviedo schoolchildren?
Back in November Seminole County Public School Transportation Officials informed 380 John Evans Elementary students that they would no longer be able to ride a bus to school, and could now walk or bike to school up to two miles along the newly-expanded six-lane, 50 miles-per-hour State Road 434, also know as Alafaya Trail.
It's a great road for commuters - big and fast - but it's no place for small children ages five to ten. We know that some of these 380 affected children will have no choice but to walk or bike to school on such a dangerous roadway.
We know this road will only get busier and more dangerous with each new stadium, or medical school, or neighborhood, or additional business that is built. And we know that once these children lose their school bus it will take a tragedy before the dangers of this road will be scrutinized again.
So, feeling very afraid, many concerned parents and neighborhoods banded together to protect our own in an amazing show of solidarity. We called meetings, did research, presented our case well, and with the crucial support of the Seminole County Sheriff's Office and the Oviedo Police Department were able to "save our bus" for these 380 students. For four months...
Now Seminole County Public Schools is trying again to eliminate the school buses...this time starting with the children living on the east side of State Road 434. They happen to live on the same side of the street as the school.
Sure, they wouldn't have to cross the monster, 15-lane intersection at Chapman Road and State Road 434, but they would have to navigate up to two miles of commercial business driveways, including an auto repair and tow truck garage, a used car lot, a pool hall, a dentist office, an animal hospital, a nursery and landscape company, two medical buildings, several neighborhood entrances, several side streets, a large Watson Realty office building, and a convenience store/gas station, just to get to school and back home again. Our Oviedo chickens wouldn't fare too well if subjected to that multitude of hazards daily, and we're absolutely terrified our children won't either.
And if the east side of State Road 434 loses their school buses, we have heard the west side will follow, even though the children living on the west side of State Road 434 must cross seven lanes of Chapman Road, followed by eight lanes of State Road 434, to reach their school each day.
Such an intersection would normally require four (agile) crossing guards, but there will not be any because it's too dangerous. Seriously. Alafaya Road, aka State Road 434 is a State road, which means there is no way for the crossing guards to control the traffic light to stop the flow of traffic completely.
Six lanes of traffic could be moving through this intersection at any given time. So Evans Elementary students on the west side of State Road 434 would have to cross 15 lanes of traffic with no crossing guards to guide them, no flashing "school zone" lights on State Road 434 to reduce speed below the "posted" 50 miles-per-hour speed limit, all the while dodging multiple lanes of moving traffic.
We did not even trust our chickens near two lanes of State Road 434 without signs advising drivers to show extra caution, yet there are no signs on our six lanes of State Road 434 to indicate that there are 900 children present behind the "7-11" store.
There are no "Watch for Children" or "Children Crossing" or "Speeding Fines Doubled When Children Present" signs. No "I brake for Oviedo schoolchildren" bumper stickers.
Like our Oviedo chickens, Evans Elementary is unique. Because of its' location and close proximity to State Road 434, and the University of Central Florida, it has unique transportation challenges for students that mandate unique transportation solutions.
We protect our chickens, and we make sure our adult construction workers have every opportunity to do their job safely on our dangerous roads - cones, barricades, signs, construction zones, blinking lights, orange vests, flags, helmets, doubled speeding fines.
We are outraged when someone harms our chickens or our construction workers ... we should do whatever it takes to show the same concern for our children. They are our future.
And that is why we are fighting this as if it were a matter of life or death ... again. East side or west side, it doesn't matter. No child should face this many hazards to get to school.
For all of us, the cost of continuing to bus these children will seem inconsequential if "one of our own" is killed while trying to get to school on such a dangerous road.
If you share these concerns, please call me at 407-739-0325. Just like our chickens, our Oviedo school children deserve all the support we can give them...
