Parents in East Quogue say their children's lives are being put at risk every day they go to school due to the lack of a sidewalk.

They are calling for a sidewalk to be built on a 300-foot stretch of Montauk Highway between Hallock and West End avenues.

Fewer children are now eligible to ride the bus to school due to cutbacks, and many of those students are walking.

"The concern is the safety of our children," says parent Bill Wright. "This is also a seasonal and summer community. People walk down this strip all the time, and go into the park and the town, and it's not safe here."

Robert Long, the East Quogue school superintendent, says he's aware of the issue and that he is in touch with the Suffolk County Department of Public Works. 

He says he is eager for the sidewalk to be built. 

"Goodness forbid anything were to happen. We don't want to be in that situation, so let's take care of it," says Long. 

Officials with the Suffolk Department of Public Works say they plan on conducting a pedestrian traffic study in the spring to determine the best way to protect school children in East Quogue.