"Its going to ease a lot of our concerns”: Lehigh Elementary gets new sidewalk

LEHIGH ACRES, Fla. — Where does the sidewalk end in Lehigh Acres?

Many places, but one stops short of Lehigh Elementary School which has caused safety concerns for years.

Lanisha Dobberstein drives her two boys to and from LES part of the way, and once they’re close enough, she walks them the rest of the way there.

"I wish that a lot of people would take driving in school zones a little more seriously just because you know it's the safety of our children, and children...they act unexpectedly,” Dobberstein said.

She does it to avoid the drop-off traffic, but part of where they walk, the sidewalk abruptly ends.

Watch Lehigh Acres Community Correspondent Ella Rhoades report below:

However, it won’t look that way for much longer because the Board of Lee County Commissioners approved to complete the sidewalks surrounding the school.

"It makes me happy that they're taking the safety of our students more seriously and making it a bigger priority," Dobberstein said.

The school’s Principal Jackson Morgan said it’s been years in the making since he started there 11 years ago.

"It's a sense of relief to us,” Principal Morgan said.

He said around 100 students walk to and from LES, but part of their journey is on busy Lehigh streets because roads surround the entire school with no sidewalk in front of the school and none on the south side.

"Unfortunately without proper sidewalk coverage, they're left to to walk on the roads or traveling the roads, and you know with 3rd Street and Richmond so close, it can become dangerous," Morgan said.

Principal Morgan and Lehigh Acres Community Correspondent Ella Rhoades walked where crews will build part of the new sidewalk in 2025.

He added it might seem like a small issue but that’s not the case for the community.

Recently in Lehigh, a car hit a student waiting for the school bus since there was no sidewalk for them to wait at.

"The importance of a sidewalk on a school campus or near a school campus is absolutely paramount,” Principal Morgan said.

The county said FDOT will pay $742,110 for the project. For parents like Lanisha Dobberstein, it’s money well spent.

"I think it's going to ease a lot of our concerns, big time,” she said.

School safety not only in the classroom but also on the way there.