Transportation
Long Island Kids Beg for a School Bus to Take Them Across a Dangerous Road
New York's “complete streets” law is a step in the right direction, but roads around the state continue to threaten the lives of children who live and go to school near them.
Fourteen-year-old Brittany Vega was just trying to get to school when she was killed by a driver as she crossed the Sunrise Highway in Wantagh, New York, in the fall of 2010. She was supposed to be taking the bus. Her mother had forbidden her to walk to school because the six-lane arterial road on Long Island is so notoriously perilous for pedestrians, regularly ranking as one of the most dangerous in the region.
Since Vega’s death, New York has passed a “complete streets” law that requires better accommodation for pedestrians in future road development. But Sunrise Highway, and similar roads around the state, continue to threaten the lives of children who live and go to school near them.