“It's a safety issue. It's just not the right and decent thing to do for a child that has to go through a lot to begin with,” said Jay Shailer. "Evan has cerebral palsy and cognitive delays. Because of all that, Centerville City Schools deemed it was most safe to pick him up with a chair lift at the end of our driveway which they've done for years."
For the last week, Evan’s school bus wasn’t been able to come down McKinney Lane and turn around. That’s because construction crews blocked the cul-de-sac.
"We asked if they could move or turn around and they said they weren't able to do so. So the bus had to back up and we had to figure out what we had to do next because the bus can't pick him up."
The construction is part of ongoing development near Shailer’s home, which includes extending the street.
“When developing a new street within a community, the developer has an obligation to provide a temporary emergency turnaround at the end of the street for emergency vehicles,” said George Oberer Jr., CEO of Oberer Companies. “At the Oberer Companies, we celebrate diversity and would never actively discriminate or intentionally put anyone in danger, regardless of their circumstances.”
Oberer said the temporary turnarounds are never intended to be permanent accommodations and are removed when a street is extended.
Retired Washington Twp. Zoning Commission member David Douglas said the situation is unacceptable based on his experience.
"This is terrible planning,” Douglas said. "I really think that the community's development standards are really being compromised. This situation definitely does not meet our community's standards."
Washington Twp. Public Works Engineer John Davies asked Oberer to install a different kind of turn-around to address the issue in an email Tuesday.
“Please schedule a hammer-head turn-around as soon as possible to facilitate the safe transportation of this child,” Davies wrote in the email.
Oberer responded to the email, telling Davies, “Prior to the start of construction we were unaware of the impact that the removal of the temporary cul-de-sac would have on the Shailer family.”
Washington Twp. Administrator Jesse Lightle issued a statement Friday that once the township was made aware of the issue, officials contacted the developer and facilitated a meeting between Centerville City Schools and the developer to resolve the temporary issue.
“Thanks to Oberer, Washington Twp. and Centerville City Schools for meeting to develop a solution to this issue,” Sailer said Friday. “Our family is incredibly grateful for the outpouring of support from this wonderful community. Evan is blessed to have you all as neighbors.”
The road extension is expected to be finished by Nov. 1.
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