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Child safety discussed

Tyrone students had to walk on road to get to school

TYRONE — Borough officials may work with PennDOT to avoid a repeat of a risky situation that occurred on Clay Avenue north of Fifth Street after the Nov. 15 snowstorm.

Initially at least, PennDOT plowed the avenue only to the fog lines, so children heading to school, who normally walk on the edges of the yards there — or, if those are snow-covered, on the asphalt berm — had to walk in the travel lane, according to resident Stephen Grot, speaking to Borough Council Monday.

“It’s ridiculous,” said Michele Miller, a former crossing guard who saw what happened. “It has to be addressed.”

Normally, PennDOT plows the avenue on that state highway to the curbs, but at the time, plow truck drivers mainly wanted to get the travel lanes cleared, Mayor Bill Latchford said after the meeting.

The borough might benefit by opening a “dialogue” with PennDOT, Borough Manager Ardean Latchford said.

Such a dialogue could lead to a discussion of plowing and perhaps of extending the low-speed-limit school zone to Fifth Street, beyond the normal limit the manager indicated.

Grot suggested that the borough require the property owners to clear the walking paths, some of which are covered with gravel, along the edges of their yards, based on an ordinance that requires sidewalk maintenance.

But those paths are not sidewalks, even though the students routinely walk on them, said solicitor Dan Stants.

The homeowners aren’t required to shovel their yards, officials said.

Nor are the homeowners required to construct actual sidewalks to replace those paths, Stants said.

There are lots of areas in the borough without sidewalks, the manager said.

Moreover, if the paths on Clay Avenue were shoveled, there could be a liability issue, as at least part of the route is tilted about 30 degrees toward the curb, the manager said — adding that he hated to use the liability excuse, but that in this case it’s justified.

PennDOT, which has an easement for the roadway that extends onto the yards, could conceivably be persuaded to construct a sidewalk there, according to Stants.

The safety of schoolchildren walking along Clay Avenue has been an issue for a long time, Miller said.

Mirror Staff Writer William Kibler is at 949-7038.

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