To the Editor: I would like to bring to attention the work that went on outside of George Washington Elementary School in Kingston during the two weeks leading up to summer break. On Friday, June 7, the city began doing work on the roads, a day towards the end of the school year chosen for parents to attend lunch with their children at the school. For about 20 minutes, a large tractor-trailer blocked the street outside the school as it tried to pass through. An announcement blared over the loudspeaker, asking if any parents drove a car that was parked in the path of this truck.

On Monday, June 10, during school drop off, trucks and workers lined the side of the road next to the school, as a section of the road was dug up. School drop-off was a nightmare. Minimal work continued off and on through the week, but on Monday, June 17, workers completely blocked off Wall Street outside the school during school drop-off. Traffic guards did their best to help parents do U-turns on Henry Street in front of the school, as construction workers shrugged that they did not have enough men to help direct cars away from the closed road, which had effectively become a cul de sac with cars attempting to turn around in the very spot where children were crossing the road to get to the school.

Last year, construction work also happened during this same time outside of the school, but at that time, workers began digging up the street during Field Day, while kids were right outside on the main lawn playing outdoor games. I realize that this work is necessary for Kingston's infrastructure, but why does the city fail to take into account school calendars when planning street work that impacts children, parents, and teachers and their safe routes to school? Had this work begun two and half weeks later, the streets surrounding the school would be virtually empty, beyond normal light traffic. This work not only impacts getting to school, but it also impacts the air that our children breathe and the loud noise that impacts their hearing.

Laura Wyatt

Kingston