CLOVER - Five-year old Hannah Burroughs peddles her pink bike down the
street. Her little brother Jack is too short to peddle, so his mother Lesley
Burroughs pulls him in a wagon.

The siblings use the street because they have no choice.
"There's no sidewalk," Lesley Burroughs said. "There's no barrier to protect
them from the cars."

Clover Town Council members could approve an ordinance Feb. 9 requiring
all new subdivisions to include sidewalks. However, the new ordinance will
not apply to Park Place subdivision, where the Burroughs live.

"When we want to walk in the neighborhood, we have to walk in the road
because there's no side walks," said Burroughs, who's lived in the subdivision
for a year. "It would just be nice to have a sidewalk area where you wouldn't
feel like you have to get out of the way when a car is coming."

She is hopeful developing subdivisions will include sidewalks in their plans.
Faulkner Ridge, a new community under construction, will incorporate
4-foot-wide sidewalks. Yet three developing subdivisions - Irish Downs, Clover
Meadows and Eagle Creek - lack sidewalks.

Clover Town Administrator Scott Moulder said existing subdivisions and those
that recently received approval to build are exempt from the new ordinance. But
future subdivisions will adhere to the policy.

Burroughs, who previously lived on a busy country road in the area, moved to
Park Place because she wanted a safer haven for her family. While there's a
25 mph speed limit sign posted in the neighborhood, Burroughs said its
posting is in vain. "Many people don't observe the speed limit," she said. "And
when I see them coming, I feel like I have to grab both my kids' hands to make
sure we're out of the way."

Moulder doesn't want mothers and children running from cars. "I would like for
our children to be able to play without having to dodge vehicles," he said.
Yet Burroughs likes her neighborhood and her two-story home, located at the
entry of a cul-de-sac. The family often plays tag in the front yard, sometimes
running to retrieve a bouncing ball from the street.

Darlene Shoemaker, who lives two blocks away, has had to pluck her five-year
old son Raymond from the street. "I have literally jerked my son out of the
street because cars have come flying down our road," she said.

Shoemaker, who built her home nearly a year ago, is also partial to sidewalks.
"If there would have been two subdivisions, and one had sidewalks and the
other didn't, I would have bought in the subdivision with the sidewalks," said
Shoemaker, 33, a substitute teacher.

She explained she walks at 5 a.m. weekdays with a neighbor who nearly got
hit once as she walked in the street. Despite the wake up call, Shoemaker and
her neighbor continue to walk the neighborhood streets and beyond.
Still, her daily walks might be limited to Park Place, if the subdivision had
sidewalks, an amenity she said brings peace of mind. "It makes me feel safe
because it takes me and my child off the street."

Toya Graham / The Herald. Herald. Rock Hill, S.C.: Jan 25, 2004. pg. 1.B

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