Second near crash fuels anxiety in Marblehead

MARBLEHEAD – An Aug. 24 fatal pedestrian accident and a near-collision Thursday involving a student riding a bike and a student pedestrian have cast a shadow over what was intended to be a positive health program for Marblehead students.The Marblehead Wellness Committee and the Board of Health kicked off the “I Walk, I Rock” campaign on the second day of school, encouraging students and parents at all the town schools to walk or bike to school on the first Wednesday of each month.Flyers went out to all students and the Wellness Committee worked with school principals, parent teacher organizations and Lead Nurse Paula Dobrow to publicize the campaign.Organizers were hoping to get students walking to school as often as possible, as an exercise routine and a way to reduce traffic. MassRIDES, Slow Please and many volunteers participated in the first event Sept. 9.However, the Pleasant Street pedestrian accident that took the life of Marblehead High student Allie Castner, 15, generated concern about the program for some parents and Thursday?s near-incident further fueled their anxiety.?The timing of this is inappropriate,” School Committee Chairman Dick Nohelty said during Thursday night?s School Committee meeting. He questioned the potential liability to the school department and the town and pointed out that the School Committee is responsible for the safety of school children.?There are areas in town that are tightly congested,” he said. “The Eveleth School has no sidewalks and when there?s snow the children have to walk in the street. We?re creating an expectation of safety that isn?t there.”?We had a recent incident and I don?t want to go through this again,” Nohelty said. “I think it?s a great concept, it just needs to be vetted.”Superintendent of Schools Paul Dulac told the committee that the Wellness Committee discussed the program with Police Lt. David Millett, the traffic officer, and planned to make a report to the School Committee on Oct. 8.Dulac said he had a lawyer?s opinion that there was no liability to the schools. He was asked to obtain an opinion from the town counsel.As for the vetting of the program, Dulac told the committee, “I?m sorry that we disagree on this, but we did involve the police department and we obviously are concerned about safety.”