Editor:

Villages are places that are connected by safe sidewalks and pedestrian paths so that people need not be slaves to their automobiles. In these idyllic places, feet rule.

The new middle school under construction on what has been described thoroughly in obfuscation as “semi-wetland” land off Manley Road (connecting Highway 98 and Highway 13) appears to have no sidewalks leading to its moat-surrounded entrance. Moreover, there are open ditches on both sides of Manley Road.

As a member of the Southland Place Homeowner’s Association Board and a resident of Southland Place subdivision in Fairhope, I want the people of Fairhope to know that I am concerned about the abject lack of quality infrastructure around this new school. Furthermore, there are drainage and traffic issues as the runoff from the new construction flows naturally through our subdivision, unlawfully silting our ponds, and the dropping off and picking up of students will invite clogging of Southland Place avenues.

Children in the neighborhoods surrounding the new school should be able to use a system or network of sidewalks to get to their local school. They should not have to walk on busy streets with open ditches, competing for road space with cars.

I find it painfully ironic that Wal-Mart has a sidewalk leading to an already-rusted bridge in front of its newest and most ambitious project to date on Highway 181. The same cannot currently be said for the new school on Manley Road.

Fairhope