Crosswalk Drama

I had no idea the job of school crossing guard could be so filled with drama. A couple of weeks ago as I was driving Clara to school, I saw the principal and a school district policewoman talking with the crossing guard at the corner house next to the school.

Of course, I had to get the scoop next time we walked. You can't tell from the picture I posted the other day, but there is no sidewalk in front of his house, so the kids have to walk through his yard. He has a sidewalk that runs from his front door to the street and it's lined with hedges on either side all the way to the street and there is a big brick mailbox at the curb also. Well, there is a path through his bushes so people don't have to step into the busy street to get past his house, as well as a well worn path through his grass.

This particular morning, he decided to put up stakes and netting so that the kids couldn't walk across his sidewalk. Instead, the school had to put a second crossing guard at this sidewalk so that traffic could be stopped as the kids stepped into the street and around his mailbox. I saw the policewoman talking with the homeowner as I passed by on my way home. That afternoon the netting was gone.

The school cleared some brush behind this guys house and constructed a small fence and will be putting in a path. Starting today, the kids will walk along the side of his house and behind it to get to school. Clara was a little wary of the changes, so I walked with her the whole way today. Her shoes were soaked from the long trek through the grass beside the school.  The crossing guard made sure to tell Clara not to step in his yard. Apparently, starting Monday he will be calling the police and pressing charges for trespassing if a kid walks through his yard. Can't you just feel the love? Oh, and he told the crossing guard he doesn't like them going behind his house either because his dog barks. Oy. Maybe the school should invest in a helicopter to transport the kids over his kingdom. Or a teleporter maybe. That would solve everything.

I get his frustration and I'm glad the school is working with him and came up with a pretty easy solution, but these kids aren't the only people walking through his yard. I see high school track runners running this route all the time. It's frustrating and I do understand his frustration. That neighborhood has been there a long time and the school is only a few years old. We just don't live in a pedestrian friendly area. At all. I really wish we lived somewhere where walking is encouraged. This has become very important to me as Clara is getting older, but it just seems like an uphill battle here. I want her to have some independence in a few years. I want her to be able to safely walk to school or the store or a friends' house, so that is definitely something we will be considering before we buy our next house.

The crossing guard also told me that the other day a truck was tailgating another parent who had just dropped their kid off at this corner to walk the rest of the way to school. Apparently a block down the road, on our walking route, the two men got out of their respective vehicles and got into a fist fight. I believe the other one was also a parent of kids at the school. Nice. She said she's also been cursed at by a driver while walking kids across. Because that 30 second wait for grade school children to cross the street safely just messes up one's entire day. What is wrong with people???