In many areas walking to school is a common occurrence, even for younger students. But in many Lake Zurich and Hawthorn Woods neighborhoods the lack of sidewalks makes walking to and from school dangerous. For the safety of not only students but residents of the area as well, and  area planners must reevaluate priorities and install sidewalks.

Many schools in the District, including the high school, Spencer Loomis, and Middle School North are on or near major roads that do not have sidewalks to make walking along these roads safe for kids.

Students who live within a mile and a half of the school must either pay to ride the bus or walk. Students who live in this area often must walk along roads without sidewalks and are putting themselves in danger of being hit by a car, especially in an area with so many teenage drivers present.

One such student is Sarah Regneantu, freshman, who lives less than a quarter of a mile from the school and takes the bus everyday only because there are no sidewalks on a road that has many morning commuters in addition to the 500 or so students who drive to school every day.

Regneantu says the dangers of walking to school along Church Street outweigh the time efficiency, so she takes the bus to and from school every day. If there were sidewalks, Regneantu says she would walk to school on days where the weather permitted.

Regneantu and student walkers are not the only ones put in danger because of the lack of sidewalks.  Athletes who participate in sports such as cross country, track, lacrosse, and soccer run in Lake Zurich during team practice in order to condition.

“We have only a couple routes we can really run because so much of LZ doesn’t have sidewalks,” Michaela Kapraun, senior cross country and track athlete, said.  “We also have to make sure we run where people can see us and wear bright clothing so we don’t get hit when we do have to run those places.”

There have been a couple incidents where student runners have almost been hit while running on streets without sidewalks, according to J.B. Hanson, Varsity cross country and track distance coach.

Student athletes are not the only ones put at risk by a lack of sidewalks. Four years ago, the Lake Zurich community lost Gabby Drozdz, 2011 graduate,  in a tragic hit and run that may have been avoided if there had been an easily accessible and visible sidewalk available to the students walking.  Drozdz was walking to Alpine Fest on July 22, 2011 when she was struck and killed. The driver has not been found, and the family is offering a reward for any information that leads to the arrest of the driver.

While no one can say this accident would not have happened if there were sidewalks, if Drozdz had been on a clearly defined place to walk as opposed to the side of the road, the driver may not have hit her, as she would not have been as close to the road.

Lake Zurich must consider expanding the amount of sidewalks in the area to provide safe and easy ways for students to get from place to place.