Parents say walking to North Tulsa school is dangerous

A North Tulsa intersection has some parents and school administrators fearing for the lives of children.<br><br>51st street North connects Cincinnati avenue to a neighborhood near Sam Houston Elementary.

Wednesday, September 6th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

A North Tulsa intersection has some parents and school administrators fearing for the lives of children.

51st street North connects Cincinnati avenue to a neighborhood near Sam Houston Elementary. Many parents whose children walk the route to school everyday think itâ€™s an accident waiting to happen.

"I almost witnessed a baby getting hit out in the street, that scared the life out of me," said concerned parent Carolyn Parker.

Parker is the mother of a first grader at Sam Houston and says the street her child walks to school is too narrow and can be blocked from a driverâ€™s view by tall weeds. She says the children who walk to school walk through this one narrow street because the field in between is swampy and overgrown.

Parker watches the children, and the cars, every morning and afternoon. "Who is to say that one of those cars isn't going to get out of control and hit one of those babies going to school," she asked.

The street has no sidewalk, and Parker says it would be easy for a child to step out from behind the tall weeds and be hit by a car. The principal at Sam Houston, Sylvester Sallis, says he also thinks an accident is inevitable.

"In that area, the children have absolutely no place to go,â€ said Sallis. â€œIf there's one car or two coming, there's nowhere for them to go, either in the ditch or in the weeds."

Both Sallis and Parker say theyâ€™ve complained to the city about the lack of sidewalks and were told the city didn't have the money.

"I don't see why they can't find enough money,â€ said Sallis. â€œWhat is that, 50 feet of sidewalk? I think we ought to be able to do something."

Both say they complained about the weeds, but were told it would take weeks to do the paperwork. Parker says she worries that weeks may be too late.