FAIR OAKS, Calif. —

For the past several years, there has been one particular intersection near Earl Le Gette Elementary in Fair Oaks that has given parents, particularly Abigail Hoiland, some consternation.

Up until 2021, there had been a crossing guard at this somewhat confusing and very busy intersection. But that changed when the county Safe Crossings program eliminated the crossing guard here.

The intersection of Sunset and Kenneth avenues is not on school property and no longer has a crossing guard.

As a result, for months, Hoiland started taking matters into her own hands.

"I'm there every single day after school," Hoiland told KCRA 3 Investigates in December. "I have a large sign that says please be patient and enjoy the music."

At the beginning of the 2023-24 school year, Hoiland witnessed a young boy get hit by a car at the intersection. Without a crossing guard, she took matters into her own hands. On her head is a hat shaped like a megaphone. She has a bright yellow vest with the words "squeaky wheel" printed on it. Along with the sign, she carries a megaphone.

""I've been blasting a megaphone with just jazz music like Louisiana jazz, it seems to be helping people hear you as opposed to just looking for you," Hoiland said. "I have two kids, six and eight, first and third grade."

The four-way stop, particularly at times when kids are going in and out of the school, is busy. Drivers often honk, and many hurry through the intersection. Hoiland puts out an umbrella that looks like a stop sign, blasts Dixieland, puts a cone hat on her head and walks the kids across the intersection, smiling and waving at the drivers. Many thank her as she does it. Others are impatient, waiting to get through.

"We need someone who can help those kids and make sure they get through that crosswalk safely," said another parent, Lauren Archer.

Parents like Archer have joined Hoiland in asking the school or the county to bring back crossing guards. According to data from the California Highway Patrol, which oversees traffic in the area, there have been three accidents involving bikes or pedestrians at the intersection of Sunset and Kenneth avenues since 2022. From 2019-2020, there were zero.

"It's extremely dangerous," Archer said. "I don't want to see another kid get hit."

Hoiland has been trying to get the crossing guards back, saying, "I've been reaching out to safe routes to school, the school district, the principal, the elected officials, and everyone's very kind, I know that that you've had people out monitoring and collecting data for the intersection, but nothing has been done yet."

KCRA 3 Investigates reached out to the Sacramento County Department of Transportation, which ran the crossing guard program. In an email, the county says a shortage of contractors and rising costs caused the department to end the program. They do point out that they added yellow crosswalk markings, new "stop ahead" signs and speed tables near the school and south of the intersection.

Parents like Archer don't think that's enough.

"People don't really know what's going on or whose turn it is, and you know, you can't see. So we need some more signage, lights, and some more assistance helping the kids cross," Archer said.

This brings us back to Hoiland.

"They said that the best they could do is a volunteer system with parents," which she is already doing. "We need to have something, and I hope this, I hope this gets the attention it needs to get the ball rolling."

Since that December day, though, Hoiland and her family have decided it is not safe for her to keep up work as a crossing guard at the intersection.

Her crossing guard days, too, have ended. Ironically, the county says that one of the reasons the official crossing guard program ended is similar: the rising cost of liability insurance is one of the reasons the contractors discontinued service in 2021.