Chatham-Kent's plan to eliminate crossing guards at seven communities across the municipality isn't going over very well with some Dresden-area residents.
Those crossing guard positions will phased out at the end of the current school year after council passed a motion during the 2016 budget deliberations to cut them, saving the municipality just over $63,800/year.
Jenelle Jackson-Finley, who has two children attending Dresden Area Central School (DACS), has started a petition to have the municipality re-instate the service there.
You can find that petition here.
Jackson-Finley says Dresden needs a crossing guard because the road that DACS is located on (Hwy. 21) is the only road in the town that crosses the Sydenham River, so it sees a lot of traffic - including numerous large commercial and farm vehicles.
"People feel that it's just too dangerous for our area," says Jackson-Finley. "In the fall when we're back to school that's when we have a whole bunch of tomato wagons and tractors coming in and those vehicles don't stop very fast."
But Jackson-Finley isn't just asking people to sign her petition. She's also asking them to reach out to their municipal councillors.
"We really need to be sending them emails... so that they all realize this is a big problem and how grave our concerns are over it as parents and also as drivers," says Jackson-Finley.
If the municipality doesn't re-instate the crossing guard in Dresden, Jackson-Finley says the municipality should install a pedestrian crossing with lights to make sure students can cross the street safely.