Let’s protect our children and citizens around the high school and provide safe access to and around the school!

If you have ever dropped your child off at OPHS at either the Baker or Freeman Road entrances or even just driven down these roads, you might have noticed how narrow the roads are and how unsafe these areas are without sidewalks for people walking, biking or running. This problem really becomes apparent and scary for both the pedestrian and the driver when trying to share the road.

Both Baker and Freeman Roads adjacent to OPHS are narrow, don’t have sidewalks and are a known safety concern in our community.   Freeman Road is especially hazardous given it is barely wide enough for a person to be on the road when there is normal two-way traffic.  Add nighttime, distracted drivers, rain and/or snow banks into the equation and the roadway becomes even more dangerous.

We are looking to correct a problem that has existed since the school was constructed 50+ years ago.  This has been discussed periodically over the years as near misses or minor accidents have pushed the conversation forward.  This petition is designed to create the community support and momentum needed for our elected officials to help create a solution today and make our school - and community - a safer place to live.  

Our hope is that we can accelerate the process and make a positive change now, before there is an accident with serious consequences.  If we as a community would demand our leaders to correct this hazard after a catastrophic event or fatality, we should demand actions today as if someone’s life is at risk to avoid this tragedy altogether.  

We have had some early discussions with various officials (county, state, school, village and town) who have all had positive comments and are very interested in seeing the safety hazard corrected. But with many things, the solution isn’t simple.  There are several obstacles and this does require funding to make the necessary changes.  

The great news is that even with these challenges, there are several officials already engaged in the process and exploring different solutions.  OP Town Councilman Conor Flynn, NYS Assemblyman Pat Burke and OP Village Mayor Jo Ann Litwin Clinton have all been working to fix the problem at the high school and some also working to improve safety at Windom Elementary and Eggert Elementary.  Please take the time to thank and support each of these and other officials working on this.  

Having your support and signature will go a long way to help make our community better and a safer place to live - and might even save someone’s life.  We are looking to get 500 signatures to demonstrate this is a hazard we want fixed.  The bottom line is that our children, and community, deserve to be safe.

Please pass this link around to your friends, neighbors and other tax paying residents you feel would want our school and community to be a safer place to live.