METHUEN — Chris Coleman-Plourde and his wife, Darcie, keep their 3- and 5-year-old daughters in strollers when they walk around their neighborhood.
The sidewalk ends in front of their home at 21 Cypress Ave. — where there is a short, steep hill that hinders drivers' visibility.
"Right when you go up the crest of that hill, you're taking a leap of faith that there's no one there," Chris Coleman-Plourde said while taking a walk yesterday.
Going for a stroll becomes a risky endeavor when there is no sidewalk, so they keep their daughters in the strollers to keep them safe. To make matters worse, there is a school bus stop at the top of the hill — the corner of Cypress Avenue and the heavily traveled Haverhill Street.
The couple and about two dozen other residents are asking city officials for a sidewalk. They fear a child will be hit by a car. "It's extremely dangerous," said Elizabeth Rodriguez, whose daughter, Evie, 13, is in the eighth grade at Tenney Grammar School.
Chris Coleman-Plourde said police have beefed up their presence, causing drivers to slow down. School Committee member George Kazanjian had a close call when he went to see the scene for himself.
"I almost got hit while walking the street," he said at last night's School Committee meeting.
Cypress Avenue isn't void of sidewalks, but there are several gaps such as in front of the Coleman-Plourdes' home where people have no choice but to walk in the street.
Officials are applying for a grant from the federally funded Safe Routes to School program, hoping to receive money to pay for the sidewalk.
Mayor William Manzi said he asked the Department of Public Works to obtain an estimate for how much the sidewalk will cost. If the city does not receive the grant, Chris Coleman-Plourde wants local officials to figure out a way to pay for the sidewalk.
"It needs to be a priority," he said.
Superintendent Jeanne Whitten said school transportation coordinator Brian Fowler has visited the site and is checking to see which children — and how far away they live — board the bus at the intersection. School officials are considering whether moving the bus stop down Cypress Avenue could be a good option in the meantime.
