Lynn super urges caution in crosswalks

LYNN – The six small children escorted by an adult stepped onto South Common Street at 7:55 a.m. Monday, bringing traffic to a halt and prompting this cautionary reminder from School Superintendent Cathy Latham.”Children put a lot of faith in drivers to stop.”Latham knows the city cannot place a crossing guard armed with a hand-held stop sign on every corner: It’s up to drivers and students to stay alert and take precautions to avoid accidents on major streets like the Commons, where a half dozen crosswalks lack crossing guards.Cibao Market owner Juan Crisastomo watches kids cross in front of his store every morning and said the corner of South Common and Shepard Street needs to be made safer especially for the younger kids.Students cross the Commons every school day morning on their way to Cobbet and Connery schools and Lynn Vocational Technical Institute where Tony Trinidad attends school.”If it’s a snow day people are going too fast and have a hard time stopping,” he said.Latham said street crossing safety is an ongoing concern.”When people step into crosswalks cars don’t always stop,” she said, adding drivers need to be aware of students crossing local streets during morning and mid-afternoon hours. Students need to be reminded by parents and teachers to wait before stepping into crosswalks and to look both ways and make eye contact with the nearest driver before walking across the street.”We’ve got to do a better job educating drivers but also educating students,” she said.