NATIONAL CITY, Calif. — A street without traffic signals and street lights near an elementary school in National City is causing serious concerns for parents.
There have been several vehicle fatalities and accidents, the most recent one was a woman just this week.
For some kids walking to school makes for an easy, safe and enjoyable alternative than having their parent’s drive them, but for families at Olivewood Elementary School, they have been forced to avoid walking because of the intersection between F street and 24th street. An intersection where dozens of vehicles regularly speed in a school zone and run stop signs.
Students tell CBS 8 the situation has gotten so bad that there have been times where they had to dodge vehicles.
“I would go to school near here and I would stay after school for extracurricular activities and I would get scared to walk home alone,” said Anizza Guayo, who is a former student at Sweetwater High School, which is also located on the same street.
A mother who did not want to show her face on camera says she drives her 10-year-old boy to Olivewood Elementary School everyday.
She says there are no working street lights at night and the stop signs and crosswalks are in need of an upgrade.
“I can't let him walk, I can't because I don't trust that someone will drive and not hit the gas as my kid is walking,” said the Mother.
While interviewing her at the location CBS 8 even witnessed a near miss between a child and a black truck after the vehicle ran through a stop sign.
According to city records the streets infrastructure has not been updated since 2018.
With parents afraid that their child could get hurt, I asked Mayor Alejandra Sotelo Solis how the city plans to take action.
“I think it needs to start with a walk audit, getting the community out, identifying the issues,” said Solis.
As for the lights, Solis says SDG&E is the one who handles lighting.
Parents have suggested that the city place speed bumps to slow cars down, Solis says she is paying close attention to the concerns and will be working with the school and the city’s street and safety committee to resolve the issues.
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WATCH RELATED: City of San Diego tackling backlog of thousands of street light repairs (March 2022).
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