Gary, a fifth-grader, quickly rattles off her roadside adventures. One time, she said, her friend Hannah cut her leg trying to bypass a large tree left in the sidewalk. It is a scene becoming far too common in many municipalities in northern Pinellas County that are still witnessing significant building - either because new businesses and houses are coming in, or because the county is undertaking improvements, such as road widenings or extensions, to better accommodate those already here. These students are either walking, or driving to school themselves, or their parents are driving them. As for determining who is responsible for the construction-associated dangers the walkers face, that takes some backtracking.
Governments usually know about a project beforehand - they have to approve it, generally.
But the details don't get passed on - and the school crossing guards doesn't learn about it until a jack hammer starts ripping into the sidewalk she's standing on. In general, it seems the more government agencies there are overseeing student safety and construction, the more likely it is an official notice gets lost in the communication channels Take the Safety Harbor situation for instance. The Pinellas County Sheriff's Office, which contracts with the small city to provide police protection, is also responsible for its school crossing guards. Lough, a sheriff's administrator, says her people were not informed beforehand of the potential impediments posed by the Bailey Street brick restoration and storm water project. But Lennie Naeyaert, Safety Harbor's city engineer, said the sheriff's office was routinely informed when construction would get under way.