Vote Now to Keep Cary Kids Safe
Cary, NC — Take one minute to vote for a new bike/stroller/wheelchair ramp at Northwoods Elementary School, and ask your friends and family to do the same!
Vote Now to Keep Cary Kids Safe
A State Farm philanthropy program called State Farm Neighborhood Assist could fund a new wheelchair and bicycle ramp for Northwoods Elementary School, a Title 1 school near Downtown Cary. The ramp, designed by NCSU students, was one of 200 projects selected from across the country to compete for 40 grants of $25,000 each.
The voting deadline, June 3, 2015, is quickly approaching, and Northwoods needs your help to receive the grant. Ask everyone you know to vote now, and everyday until June 3, to help.
Leigh Williams, Northwoods PTA VP, told me that:
The greenway that runs along the school connects to many of the neighborhoods that feed Northwoods. About 20% of our students already walk to school. Making this connection would allow many more families, who are out of the walk zone, an alternate way to get to school.
Why Should I Vote?
It’s quick, free and easy, but, most importantly, it will make a difference.
Check out this dangerous staircase:
Strollers, babies and bikes are carried down this staircase every weekday.
This tall concrete staircase, which provides the main pedestrian connection to the school grounds at Northwoods Elementary, is a challenge for kids with bikes and parents with strollers.
Safety has been a concern as kids continually attempt to roll their bikes up or down the steep slope next to the stairs and parents attempt to carry strollers with infants in their arms. The only alternative access for pedestrians and bicyclists adds a long detour to their trip and crosses the busy carpool and bus entrance to the school – an undesirable route for elementary school children.
The community hopes that the proposed path and ramp connection will allow students to bike to and from school independently and facilitate access by users of wheelchairs and strollers.
Many elementary students ride their bikes to school and have to roll them up the hill beside the staircase.
A new ramp for wheelchairs, bikes and strollers would fix this problem for years to come.
How to Vote
You’ll vote for the new ramp at Northwoods through a Facebook app. Voting takes less than a minute and will help kids, teachers and parents in our Cary community. Here’s all you do:
- Click this link, which will take you to the voting homepage.
- You can vote 10 times per day. Click “use all my votes for today” to do this.
- Vote 10 times everyday until June 3, 2015.
Editor’s Note: I had to disable a pop-up blocker before I could place my vote. If the screen keeps taking you back to the U.S. map, disable pop-ups and try again!
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Story by Jessica Patrick. Photos by Leigh Williams.
I’d vote, but clicking the link takes me to a FaceBook login screen.
I find this unfortunate, as I do not want or need FaceBook. And I find it more than mildly irritating that it is required to participate in something this important to the community.
The voting link works great from desktop but did not work for me from my phone. Please try http://tinyurl.com/rampvote if the link has problems from your device!
Town of Cary would perhaps be able to help… if the grant is not awarded. Consider using the funds needed to pay for the “colored pavement” at the planned re-do of the intersection at Cary Parkway and High House Rd. Or, they could perhaps give up on some of the $160K a year sharrow painting and put it toward this needed item, TOC would get great PR for it all, too!
In any case, when I drive through an intersection at posted speed of 45 MPH the pavement color might not get noticed. Academy & Chatham at 25 MPH might be another story! ;-)
Thank you to Cary Citizen for helping our school and community by sharing our voting request! This project will serve many families for many years to come!