In Wayne, New Jersey, students must walk alongside busy, four-lane roads, dart past cars going 45 miles per hour, and trudge down roads without sidewalks -- all to get to school.

Parents Jody and David Astolfi want their daughter, and other students like her, to have safe passage to school via a schoolbus or a paved walkway. But since they live less than 2.5 miles away from a school, New Jersey state law states that the school district doesn't have to provide busing. And the town of Wayne says funding sidewalks isn't a priority. So children must continue to dart past cars driving 45 miles per hour and cross busy roads.

Wayne's school district says it's the town's responsibility to construct sidewalks and provide crossing guards, but the city says it has no money to build sidewalks.

The National Center for Safe Routes to School helps states and communities create safe routes to school. These, and other groups, connect concerned parents with the tools they need to protect their children.

Wayne's school district should protect kids on their way to school. Ask them to pledge to work with the National Center for Safe Routes to School to figure out a compromise that makes everyone safe.

Photo credit: Horia Varlan via Flickr