Traffic turmoil at Lynn Classical

LYNN – Parents are calling for increased safety measures on O’Callaghan Way after a second person was hit by a car there in less than a week.Classical High School parent Michelle Brewster said she’s been dealing with the traffic on O’Callaghan for six years and it’s only getting worse.”It doesn’t matter if you leave at 7:30 or 7:45; there’s always traffic backed up to Walnut Street and it’s absolute craziness,” explained Brewster. “You want to tear your hair out of your head. What is it going to take, someone getting seriously hurt or killed? You already have a kid with a broken leg.”Brewster said she has called the Superintendent’s Office and the Mayor’s office with suggestions on a number of occasions, but nothing is ever done.”Classical and Callahan start at the same time, why can’t one school start a little later?” asked Brewster.A local father, Oluwafunsho Ibiloye, who was carrying his 5-year-old daughter, was struck by a vehicle Monday morning while crossing O’Callaghan Way after dropping his other child off at Callahan Elementary School.Callahan Principal Edward Turmenne said a mother coming from dropping her children off at Classical High School hit the father, throwing him and cracking the car’s windshield.He was not seriously hurt and refused treatment, and the child he was carrying was luckily only left with a scratch on her knee, Turmenne said.The father was not in a crosswalk and the driver cited obscured vision due to sun glare as the cause of the accident, according to school officials.The accident happened less than a week after a car struck a Classical High school student, breaking his leg.Police said at the time that glare from the sun also played a role in that accident and the student who was hit was also not in a crosswalk.O’Callaghan Way is home to Callahan Elementary School, Breed Middle School and Classical High School.”We at Callahan made an announcement that students should not assume that drivers can see them. We also told them that they should make sure to cross with the crossing guard, and to keep a close eye on younger brothers and sisters,” Turmenne explained Monday.Classical High student Raynel Mazara estimated that up to three-quarters of students walk to school, adding that the close proximity of three different schools creates a lot of traffic.He also noted that there’s only two crossing guards, one in front of Callahan and one in front of Classical, and it would “most definitely be safer with more guards.”Tracy Sergi picks her daughter up from Classical High every day, and said she doesn’t come until at least 2:45 p.m. because it’s simply too congested to arrive before then.”A lot of kids get dropped off in the street and walk over because if their parents pull in they’re stuck in the lot for at least 15 minutes,” Sergi explained. “People are constantly in a rush.”For Brewster’s daughter, Nicole, the situation on O’Callaghan Way is more of an issue of tardiness than anything else.”I’m always late for school because of the traffic,” she said.Two other Classical students, Waldemer Rullan and Jeffrey Ruiz, also said that they are usually in a rush because the traffic makes them late for school.Classical High students are allowed three tardy days per quarter before they are issued a detention for each additional tardy. Students who are tardy are not allowed to participate in any sporting or extracurricular activity on the day they are late, including field trips.As a result, students are often in a hurry and don’t always use the crosswalk.Ward Seven Councilor Richard Ford said he is working with Lynn Police to ensure the safety of all students and parents who cross O’Callaghan Way.Ford said there will be a cruiser patrolling the area in the morning before school and in the afternoon when the schools are dismissed. The Parking Department will also be monitoring the area to crack down on illegal driving, such as U-turns, which Ford said only makes the situation on O’Callaghan Way more dangerous.Cl