Politics & Government
Pedestrian Bridge Planned Near Chaparral
A new pedestrian and bicycle bridge over Santa Gertrudis Creek will make is safer for kids getting to and from Chaparral High School.
A plan to build a pedestrian bridge over a creek near got the green light.
The City Council approved the plan Tuesday during a meeting at the .
The $1,150,000 million bridge will stretch over Santa Gertrudis Creek just south of the school and connect Margarita and Roripaugh roads, according to city documents.
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The plan aims to connect the school with the Harveston community, according to a city staff report.
Amy Garza, a parent who lives in Harveston, said she was relieved that the bridge is going in.
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“It is so dangerous. Cars run those lights regularly and fail to check the corners for pedestrians attempting to cross,” she said.
Garza’s daughter, Catherine, just graduated from Chaparral and had some close calls during her four years there.
“The bridge would be so much safer and more convenient. I have personally had a few scares while in my car turning on Margarita and Winchester to and from school,” the younger Garza explained.
She said a friend's younger brother was hit by a car and tragically killed near the high school several years ago.
The project is part of the Federal Safe Routes to School Program, which is designed to increase the number of kids walking and cycling to school while making it safer, the report states.
Garza didn’t allow her daughter to walk to school due to the dangerous traffic.
“I would have definitely let her walk to school if that bridge was in place while she attended the high school. Today's children are seldom permitted to exercise their independence, walking safely to and from school affords them that opportunity,” she said.
Greg Butler of the public works department explained his team identified the location as a possible path of travel as the Harveston development began to fill.
"It was observed that several students walked or rode bikes along Margarita then Winchester Road to get the high school," he said. "This more direct path of travel will not only allow for students that reside north of the high school to get to and from school away from the busier sections of Margarita and Winchester."
The engineers expect to complete the project by July 2012.
