It’s a good thing Will Mina has never heard the old adage, “You can’t fight City Hall.” Then again, I guess he wouldn’t have. Will is only 11.
Will and his little brother, Harrison, want to ride their bikes to school at Merriman Park Elementary when classes begin later this month. There’s just one problem: they can’t cross busy Church Road alone.
So sixth-grader Will and his second-grader brother visited the Dallas City Council yesterday to ask for help. Armed with a petition and photos of the intersection, Will pled his case.
“We need a school zone on Church Road at Tory Sound because it isn’t safe to get across,” Will told council members in a strong voice as his parents, John and Amy, looked on proudly. “Each day we ride with our friends, and our mom or dad or another parent has to help us get across the street on Church Road because cars are flying past us. After school it is even worse because the teenagers from Lake Highlands High School get out of school and speed on Church Road. My brother was almost hit a few times even with an adult trying to help us.”
“Our principal and many parents have called asking for the school zone or a traffic light, but they have all been told ‘no,’” continued Will.
“Church Road is a 4-lane road and the speed limit is 35 mph, but cars are going faster than that,” Will explained. “Last year a policeman came out and wrote a whole bunch of speeding tickets one morning at that intersection. He even told us it was unsafe to cross.”
Will’s dad admits Will was a little nervous, but when his plea was finished, the council (and folks in the gallery) gave him a rousing round of applause. Councilman Adam McGough, representing Lake Highlands’ District 10, told Will he is working with city staff to find a solution.
Richardson ISD classes begin August 24.