High School Students Campaign to Make Route 130 Safer

James Flynn, Principal at Burlington City High School, and Jesseca Lamont, Student and Battalion Commander of the Junior ROTC at Burlington City High School, sit down with Steve Adubato to discuss the dangerous route students walk to get to school. After losing a fellow classmate and friend on Route 130, Jessica and Burlington City High students came together to start the “25 Saves Lives” campaign.

1/20/18 #3032

 

 

 

 

 

Excerpt:

"Welcome to Caucus. I'm Steve Adubato. We're gonna have an important conversation about safety, particularly around our schools, and we're joined in that conversation by James Flynn, who is Principal, Burlington City High School, and Cadet Lieutenant Colonel Jessica Lamont, student and battalion commander of the Junior ROTC at Burlington City High School. I want to thank both of you for joining us. Thank you. We've read about, we've heard about a situation, Principal Flynn. Jim, this really has to do with, in some ways, Route 130. Tell people where that is, and why this is such an important issue that isn't just about Route 130. Well Steve, Route 130 is one of the deadliest roads in New Jersey for pedestrian safety. Where is it? It is in Burlington City. It runs directly in front of Burlington City High School, and our intermediate school for grades three through six, Wilbur Watts Intermediate School. We're a walking school district, so our students, every day, walk to and from school, and they have to go over and cross six lanes of this deadliest road in New Jersey. How could that...? How could the planners have decided that that was the best way to go? You know, we're a very historic city, a very old city. So... Southern New Jersey? Southern New Jersey, Burlington County. We're a very proud, caring community, and years ago, when Burlington City was established, to obviously Route 130, it was just a little thoroughfare in between other roads. Everything's changed? Everything's changed. And so what's so powerful about this is there's a movement in the state legislature to deal with this. There's public policy questions, or safety questions, but Jessica, you got involved in this? Yes. Along with some other student leaders? Yes. Tell us who Antwan was, why he matters so much in this, and what happened. And what it has to do with your involvement. A loaded question, I know. Go ahead. So Antwan, he was a close friend of mine, and a lot of other... A student at the school? Yes. A lot of other students in the school. He was also a cadet of mine. And I got very close with him through JROTC. And when he was... when he was growing up, he didn't have like... We're looking at a picture of him right now. He didn't have the best of... he didn't have the best of life. So he tried to get out of that lifestyle, and he was gonna go in the military, and he was just gonna..."