LAS VEGAS (FOX5) — A Las Vegas Valley mother says students are putting themselves in harm’s way to get to and from school.
John R. Beatty Elementary mother, Gretchen Lang, says in the first weeks of class she has witnessed dozens of families crossing the street in front of the school, outside of a crosswalk, during drop off and pickup.
“I have seen multiple people almost get hit, a lot of kids have almost gotten run over. Unfortunately, it’s a very unsafe situation,” Lang says.
FOX5 visited the school Thursday afternoon and saw parents and students alike pouring across Hidden Palms Pkwy during after school pickup.
“It shouldn’t take the, ‘What if a kid is going to get hit,’ or the ‘Hey, a kid did get hit’ for something drastic to happen. There’s no reason it needs to go that far,” Lang says.
Lang says the two existing crosswalks at the school are hundreds of feet away from the main entrance. Instead of walking to the nearest crosswalks, Lang says parents are opting to cut across the street instead.
“If we park right here, we’d be walking all the way to that school zone and back down, and it ends up just being too far for parents to do it,” Lang explains.
Her solution is to add a crosswalk directly across from the school’s main entrance. And she has the ambitious goal of getting that crosswalk installed by the holidays.
She started an online petition, and emailed Clark County School District Police.
“Change is never going to be made if you don’t try to make it, and this needs to be changed,” Lang says.
CCSDPD Lieutenant Bryan Zink says they encourage people with traffic concerns to reach out to the municipality the school falls in. Adding a crosswalk must go through the city or county.
Beatty Elementary falls in Clark County’s jurisdiction.
A Clark County Spokesperson says parents can report traffic safety concerns online here. That way, submissions are routed to their Public Works Department for a quick review and follow up.
“The County currently provides four crossing guards at the two existing crosswalks, and we remain committed to working closely with the school and the district to ensure that access points are safe and appropriately located. We will continue to review the situation and will follow up with the school to determine the best path forward,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
So, what if your school does not fall within the county’s jurisdiction?
CCSD created a website with links to the other various municipalities here. It also lists school zone rules and clarifies what the district has authority over when it comes to road safety.
Superintendent Jhone Ebert provided the following statement:
“I’m grateful that Clark County, local law enforcement, and municipalities are joining together to rally around our students to ensure our students feel safe traveling to and from school. The Traffic Safety Working Group met for the first time on August 20 and set a goal to identify specific steps we can take to improve traffic safety throughout our community. This working group will be developing a community-wide plan for discussion that we anticipate will be ready in the Spring of 2027. The public is encouraged to report road safety matters, such as the need for crosswalks, crossing guards, traffic signs, and safety lights, to the respective municipality where the road is located.”
Copyright 2025 KVVU. All rights reserved.
