"The first time I walked out there (at Hillside) and saw where it's going ... it was scary," she said. "It's so close."

Noise, health and safety are chief concerns for the PTA. The Sierra Club, Utah Moms for Clean Air and Physicians for a Healthy Environment also have been shouting the past year about the health effects of the road on children attending the schools and living in nearby homes.

Dr. Brian Moench with the physician's group has said living near a busy road will increase the likelihood of leukemia, asthma and other illnesses in children. He said published and peer-reviewed medical studies support his assertion. This summer, Moench and members of Moms for Clean Air went door-to-door in neighborhoods surrounding 5800 West to warn parents about the risk. Very few people were aware the road was even going through their neighborhoods.

"There are 5,000 children in just those five schools that would be affected," Hansen said. "This is not good for kids, and we need to do what's good for kids."

The school board agrees.

"We (would) put this highway right next to the playground areas of five schools," Gandy said, citing literature recommending people refrain from exercising near highways due to pollution concerns.

The board acknowledges more people on the west side brings more need for a new transportation corridor. But it doesn't want a six- to eight-lane freeway in schools' backyards.

"Other routes are possible which allow for the construction of the needed corridor but which are not in close proximity to schools," the board's proposed resolution states. "For the health and safety of children and staff, the Board of Education of Granite School District encourages the Utah Department of Transportation to develop an alternate plan to the 5800 West route for the Mountain View Corridor that does not bring the corridor into close proximity to schools."

A 7200 West option would not impact schools.

UDOT said it has looked at close to 300 options for the road, finally whittling the decision down to 7200 West and 5800 West, Newell said. In addition, the agency took a look at air quality when studying the road, but it was a bigger-picture look, instead of narrowly focused on school children.

"We do meet or exceed all the federal standards regarding air quality," Newell said.

The UDOT study is a draft copy. UDOT is expected to submit the draft to federal agencies for review, after which UDOT will release a final study for public comment. After that, UDOT will present the study and comments to the the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Federal Highway Administration for final approval. While those bodies rarely send agencies back to the drawing board, an Army Corps of Engineers decision did set back one proposal for the Legacy Parkway in Davis County.

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E-mail: jtcook@desnews.com; nwarburton@desnews.com