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Friday, July 20, 2001 Teen renews request for sidewalk along Marsh RoadBy MATT GRIMISON | News-Journal Staff Writer DELAND — Renee LaFleur has waited a year for the Volusia County Council to make good on its promise for a sidewalk to lead her safely to her bus stop. The 13-year-old activist refreshed council members' memories Thursday morning, and heard promising news from her elected leaders. The stretch of Marsh Road she negotiates to catch her bus to DeLand Middle School will get a sidewalk, and work will likely start within two months. "That's the first sidewalk on the list," Chairman Dwight Lewis said, referring to the annual work program for new sidewalks in the county. Renee has also helped to rewrite a piece of county policy regarding sidewalks, officials said, making it easier for students who have to walk to bus stops in the future. She made her reprised appearance before the council after her initial plea for the sidewalk last July. Renee cited a letter Lewis sent to her afterward promising the sidewalk "should be constructed within the next year." "Guess what?" Renee said to the council Thursday. "It's been over a year, and you haven't even started." When Renee made her initial request, it was too late to put it into this year's fiscal work plan without sacrificing another sidewalk. Lewis acknowledged her comments, but said the three-block sidewalk from Old Daytona Road to Palm Avenue will be constructed soon. The council is scheduled to discuss the list of 31new sidewalks to be built in the next year, which will collectively cost about $500,000, on Aug. 2. The list includes the $25,000 project on Marsh Road. If the council approves the work program as expected, work on that sidewalk will probably begin within a month, Lewis said, putting it sometime in September. Renee said her appearance was to make sure the council made good on its assurances from last year. She told members she was no longer the scared little 12-year-old who came before them, but a "serious 13-year-old young lady. "I just wanted to make sure you didn't forget about me or anything," she said. Anna LaFleur, Renee's mother, said the girl has pursued the issue totally on her own, deciding to come back before the council because a new school year is approaching and there is still no sidewalk. Last year, Renee told the council that passing vehicles whiz so closely by her when she walks along Marsh Road that she often has to jump into the damp, bug-infested weeds along the road's edge. While the family is frustrated by the delay, it has been a good life lesson for Renee, her mother said. "She did a wonderful job, and she wanted to check up on it," Anna LaFleur said. "I think it was an experience for her, and something she believed in." County Engineer Bill Gray said LaFleur's crusade has had a direct impact on sidewalk planning. In past years, county officials have put all the emphasis on areas within two miles of schools since students living in that radius are required to walk. But planners were not taking into account the fact that many students must walk a considerable distance to their bus stops and have to brave unsafe routes because there are no sidewalks, Gray said. "She brought to our attention something we hadn't considered," Gray said. "We'll certainly consider that in the future." |
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