Two Bellmore-Merrick seniors advocate for safer area around school
Students say the area can get too congested with traffic during drop-off and pick-up and it can be dangerous for pedestrians because of cars speeding.
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Two students at Wellington C. Mepham High School in North Bellmore are making a difference at their school by making the road next to their school safer.
Jake Wilson and Brayden Seligman say the area can get too congested with traffic during drop-off and pick-up and it can be dangerous for pedestrians because of cars speeding.
They took matters into their own hands and advocated for speed limit signs on Stewart Avenue near the school.
"Some people were not being super safe on the street," says Seligman. "Seeing that sign twice is going to make you think like, 'Hey, I do need to slow down when I'm in this school zone,' and hopefully, it does have an impact on people to drive on that road."
"Those are such crowded areas at that time. When no one else is on the street, that's when people really are speeding and you see the instances of people popping tires on the curbs or even maybe crashing into another vehicle," says Wilson.
The effort to put up the signs goes beyond the walls of the school. The students contacted local officials and attended Town of Hempstead meetings.
Their months of hard work paid off when the signs were installed on Feb. 3.
"Finally seeing the signs physically put up, it felt I had a overwhelming sense of accomplishment," says Wilson.
"It is super awesome to see our class be that happy," says Seligman.
Wilson, Seligman and the school principal say they've already seen the positive impacts.
"The cars are moving a little more slowly. It's a little more orderly," says principal Anthony DeMartinis.
