The new school year brings new challenges, but getting to class safely shouldn't be one of them. Students walking to and from Patriot Elementary in Papillion run out of sidewalk and are forced into the street.

Once the concrete ends near 96th and Hardwood kids walk into a lot full of weeds at least two feet high that haven't been mowed in more than a month.

That's when youngsters like Eli Werner head for the street. He remembers what his dad told him. "Watch for cars."

“He comes out and he doesn't even look and here comes this car and I'm behind him," says father Dan Werner. "I said Eli, you've got to watch for cars. It's just a natural flow for him to get to the end of the sidewalk and run into the mess like this and swing out around into the street."

Savannah Shores is a newer subdivision with a number of unsold lots, no sidewalks and a lot of alfalfa and weeds. "It would be more convenient if the grass was cut or they had sidewalks, definitely,” says mother Aimee Schreiner. “We have all these kids going to and from school and this is pretty much the major route to the school."

Dan Werner contacted developer Boyer Young. "They were very busy. They had 11 other subdivisions that they were responsible for taking care of and don't expect them back anytime soon. So we're supposed to find an alternate route or drive our kids to school, was their reaction."

Werner says there is no good alternate route and believes just a little mowing would help keep kids out of the street. "If they would just at least get something cleared along the edge or the side here for the kids to walk through. That's the main thing. The looks of the lots is secondary at this point in time. I'm just more concerned about the safety of our kids."

Channel 6 News spoke with Tim Young, one of the developers of the subdivision. He says he will get a crew to cut the weeds along the street in the next few days. He also says keeping the right of way clear is more of an issue for the local sanitary improvement district.