NORTH OGDEN -- At the beginning of the school year, a group of parents received good and bad news.
The good news? Their students would attend a beautiful new elementary school.
The bad news? Their kids would be required to walk three blocks to get there, including crossing busy Washington Boulevard.
More than a month later, no accidents have been reported, but parents still are concerned about the safety of children walking from 250 East and Pleasant View Drive to the new North Ogden Elementary School at 450 E. 2650 North.
"It's only three blocks, but it's a treacherous three blocks (for young kids)," said Jim Payton, father of a 5-year-old student.
For the past month, parents in the neighborhood of 250 East have been working with North Ogden city officials to find a safe, long-term solution for the 12 children who must cross Washington Boulevard to get to school.
Initially, the plan called for students ages 5 to 12 to walk along Pleasant View Drive and cross Washington Boulevard at 2600 North. Currently, a crossing guard is stationed at 2600 North to help the kids cross Washington.
But because the street has a speed limit 50 mph and has a high volume of traffic in the morning and afternoon, parents remain frightened for their children.
At a meeting two weeks ago, the city announced it had received a grant of $10,000.
More than half of that money will pay for solar-powered school zone warning flashers and other crossing guard equipment, said North Ogden Police Chief Polo Afuvai.
The warning flasher is being ordered. When the light arrives in a few weeks, kids will be able to cross at 2650 North, Afuvai said.
"I thought we came out of the meeting feeling very positive," he said. "We are moving forward with it."
Before this year, students living in the 250 East neighborhood attended Majestic Elementary and rode a bus. This changed when new school boundaries were set before the beginning of the 2009-10 school year.
Instead of walking or carpooling, parents, many of whom leave early in the morning for jobs, have wanted a bus for transportation to school.
But their neighborhood is only a half-mile from the school, and Utah's state requirement is a minimum of a mile and a half.
Another concern for parents along the walking route is an unfenced canal between 200 East and 300 East on Pleasant View Drive. There is no sidewalk.
The parents and the city hope to persuade North Ogden Irrigation Company to cover the canal so the children would have a place to walk once snow banks line the street.
"If we can't have the bus for the winter, a good second option is covering the canal," said Deana Davis, a teacher at Lomond View Elementary who has three children attending North Ogden Elementary.
Terel Grimley, president of North Ogden Irrigation Company, said he learned of the situation Monday afternoon.
A letter sent by the city never arrived because it had the wrong address.
Grimley said he will meet with North Ogden city officials Thursday about the canal, built in the late 1870s.
He said he is happy to see what can be done.
"We would be happy to pipe the canal underground if the city can pay for it," Grimley said.
Principal Ralph Aardema has spent many hours on the sidewalks and helping parents get kids in and out of school.
"The safety of every child is a concern. You try to meet that with all the resources or conditions with which you have to work. I would love to be everywhere, but I can't," Aardema said.
"We have to work with parents, the city and the school district to best serve every child."
It has been suggested that parents arrange a carpool.
But, Melissa Spelts said, in some of the families, both parents work.
On some days, she said, she has walked as many as nine kids home, and that's like herding cattle.
"It's frustrating and dangerous. ... It's tricky," said Spelts, who has two children attending the school.
"Two kids were almost hit last week. I am a little nervous for winter."
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