HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — Every day, Brianna Jerman walks her kids to Westchase Elementary.
“We’ve taken them maybe by car three days this year because of rain,” said Jerman.
Families use crosswalks just down the road if they need to cross West Linebaugh Avenue safely.
WATCH: Neighbors in Westchase asked to weigh in on proposed crosswalk plan
Cutting across closer to the school can be a bit like playing Frogger.
“It is like trying to get across one lane and run, and sometimes your kids are not as fast,” said Jerman.
“The traffic is consistently heavy, and it can be a bit challenging to walk across without having to walk all the way up to the stop sign just to walk all the way back down,” another parent said.
Hillsborough County is inviting neighbors to an open house this week where they can learn about proposed plans for a project looking to improve pedestrian safety along West Linebaugh, specifically in front of the school.
“We’re proposing a pedestrian signal to provide the time for the children and the parents to cross the road, and this is within the existing school zone in front of the school,” said Bob Campbell, Hillsborough County’s Transportation Engineering Manager.
Other improvements include sidewalk enhancements and extensions, ADA-compliant ramps, upgraded curbing, and new pavement markings.
“I think that this would help slow down the traffic and kind of keep people more aware if there’s another crossing point,” said Jerman.
“You’ve got a perfectly good crosswalk right down at Montague and Linebaugh. It’s got crossing guards,” said parent Michiel Oostenbrink.
But not everyone is behind the plan.
“It would be a pedestrian activated crosswalk, and that would just create stops that are not coordinated with stoplights,” said Oostenbrink. “The traffic there at Montague and backing up here would just, it would be kind of creating a significant amount of havoc for and detriment for the vast majority of the community.”
The open house is on Tuesday, May 20, at 6 p.m. at Westchase Elementary School. Residents can ask questions and leave written comments.
People will also be able to review the proposed safety improvements online, which will be available starting Tuesday and remain open through June 3 at the Hillsborough County Engagement Hub.
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