Sofia Reyes

There is one change that would make my neighborhood better, and it would make it safer for dozens of children every single morning: a real pedestrian crossing outside our school on Rua das Palmeiras.

Right now there is no painted crossing and no crossing guard. Cars and motorbikes come down the hill fast, and there is a blind curve just before the gate. I know this road better than I would like to, because I take my little brother and sister across it every morning by myself before school. One day a motorbike came around the curve and had to brake hard right in front of us. My sister still holds my hand tighter at that spot.

A painted crossing with a sign, and a crossing guard for thirty minutes in the morning and afternoon, would cost the city very little compared to what one accident would cost a family. Other streets near the market already have them, so it is not impossible — it is just a choice about which children get protected.

So my ask to the city council is simple: paint a crossing and assign a guard at the school gate. It is one small change, but for the kids who cross that road alone every morning, it would change how the whole day begins.