Road Construction By: Courtney Wixom

Issue: My first issue deals with the crosswalk near Syracuse Jr. High. UDOT needs to find away to build a crossing bridge for the safety of our people. This connects to Science through the Biosphere because people are a part of life and they have to cross that crosswalk all the time. My next issue deals with the highway being built down the street between Syracuse Jr. High and Syracuse Elementary. This is also connected to Science through the biosphere dealing with the safety of our community/citizens. These issues can be dealt through UDOT, Public Works, and Syracuse City Council This all relates to the atmosphere also because of the increase in CO2 emissions from more energy being created because of global warming.

Highway Building a new highway has many effects on the environment. Some of these environmental impacts include: lots of noise, water pollution, habitat destruction/disturbance, and local air quality. Also, climate change from vehicle emissions. People have to end up finding detour routes and restrictions so it makes it harder to get around. This highway being built is causing homes to be taken down north of SR-193. Tree removals near the school are also taking place. It is between the Syracuse Jr. High and Syracuse Elementary, which is not good considering all the children having to cross the street. They can afford to put up a highway but not a crossing bridge? They can afford to put citizens in more danger than to cause more safety? Building a highway can also cause many health problems including disease and/or asthma.

Crosswalk This crosswalk by the Syracuse Jr. High is very unsafe for the children crossing it. There is a flash of red light being created to signal to cars. However, this isn’t enough. Nobody watches the roads anymore or where they’re going. That’s why there are so many accidents taking place. The minimum it would cost to build the crossing bridge is near 1.5 million, where a highway would cost about 500 billion. The crossing bridge isn’t just less money but it is also safer for the environment and the citizens. Yes, it can still have some negative impacts on the environment but aren’t we always taking that risk? Also, it’s better to have negative effects but more safety than to just get more danger and negative effects with it. This relates to science because of the engineering to build it and the safety for the biosphere. Many people have been almost hit or actually hit because no one pays attention anymore. We need this for the safety of the economy.

Call to Action I challenge everyone to change the way that society is in our atmosphere and biosphere. They need to change how much energy and money they use up to help make this world a better place. Everyone needs to start focusing on ways to make everyone feel safe and to start thinking about society instead of just ourselves. We must take away this highway idea and focus on the safety of our community which would be to build a crossing bridge. Lets do everything we can to make this happen!

Work Cited Ruiz, Ramona. "New bridges have 'positive impact' all over Abu Dhabi." The National. N.p., 10 July 2012. Web. 24 May 2017. <http://www.thenational.ae/news/uae-news/new-bridges-have-positive-impact- all-over-abu-dhabi>. Standard-Examiner. "UDOT considers community's plea for crossing bridge at fatal Syracuse crosswalk." Standard-Examiner. N.p., 10 May 2017. Web. 24 May 2017. <http://www.standard.net/Local/2017/05/10/UDOT-considers-community-s- plea-for-crossing-bridge-at-fatal-Syracuse-crosswalk>. "Environmental impact of roads." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 10 Apr. 2017. Web. 24 May 2017. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_impact_of_roads>. Home. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 May 2017. <https://www.udot.utah.gov/main/f?p=100%3A6%3A0%3A%3A%3A%3AV%2CT% 3A%2C1>.