An Orange County parent is calling for safety improvements at a crosswalk near East River High School, saying students walking to campus in the morning darkness are difficult for drivers to see until they are already in the roadway.

Samantha Parrish, whose child has attended East River High School for the past two years, said she has watched students struggle to safely cross near the school entrance before the first bell.“I’ve seen multiple kids almost get hit because you just can’t see them crossing the road at all,” Parrish said.

Parrish said the concern centers on visibility at the crosswalk, especially before sunrise. She shared a photo showing how dark the area can get and said the corner where many students approach the crosswalk is not well-lit. “There are street lights there, but the main corner where most of the kids do come from, that corner is not lit up at all,” she said.

At the entrance to the school, there is a 10 mph speed limit sign, a “stop here for pedestrians” sign and a yellow pedestrian crossing sign.

Parrish said the signs are not enough if drivers cannot see students in time. “So the kids that are coming across this crosswalk, you can’t see them until they are more than halfway through the crosswalk,” she said.

Parrish said she wants a flashing beacon or another type of warning indicator to alert drivers entering and leaving the school when someone is in the crosswalk.

She said she first emailed the school principal about her concerns Oct. 20 and also filed a 311 request. According to Parrish, that request was referred to Duke Energy, but she later received an email saying the case was closed, despite no visible changes at the crosswalk. “And then two days later, I got another email asking to rate my experience with them,” Parrish said. “Obviously, I gave them no stars and put in there that nothing has yet changed.”

Parrish has since started an online petition in hopes of drawing more attention from county leaders. “But it takes one person to step up and finally try to make that difference,” she said.

Parrish said her next steps are to attend an Orange County Board of County Commissioners meeting and a school board meeting to raise the issue again.

News 6 will continue to follow the request for improvements and provide updates when changes are made.