West Hartford is about to make a dangerous trade: our kids' safety for a few more parking spots. The Town Engineering Division plans to strip the bike lanes from the Webster Hill school zone, replacing them with a solid wall of parked cars.

Think about your morning drop-off. If we lose the bike lanes, drivers won't see a second-grader stepping out from behind a parked SUV until it’s too late. At 25 mph, a car moves nearly 40 feet every second. By the time a driver reacts, the math is already against us.

Removing these lanes doesn't just create a blind spot. It forces kids on bikes into the "door zone" or directly into moving traffic. The Town promised "Vision Zero" to end traffic deaths by 2033, but they’re choosing 30 minutes of parking convenience over the safety of the kids walking into that building every morning.

We need to tell the Town Council and Manager Rick Ledwith to keep the Webster Hill bike lanes exactly where they are.