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Can anyone else comment on the Bus Transportation plan for this school year? Did anyone else get the "Efficiency" story?
My child is 10 years old attending 6th grade at POB Middle school and her late bus stop is slotted to stop on OLD COUNTRY RD.(entrance to my development) My child has to cross 2 streets at approx 4PM, a busy bank on the corner , on a block where cars cut off Old Country Road into the development where we live from 3PM on. My child will need to walk and cross this street where cars race in and out. Safety First or Efficiency? The stop on OCR is not at all visible from my home, so I will not see her get off the bus. It takes 3 minutes for the bus to come in one end of the development and out the other side back onto OCR. This is how it has been in the past 4 years. I called Transportation 2X and they refuse to change the stop: Citing that is "More efficient for the bus to go this route" I cited "the districts policy on the safety of our children being first priority." They still to date refuse to change the stop.
So my question is this: Who do I go to now? This is a BIG safety issue for any 10 year old especially in Bad Weather. I pay alot of money in school taxes, wo why cut here and compromise the Safety of my Child?- All for what "Efficiency? If they bothered to look at the amount of traffic and the flow of traffic at the 4PM time, the transportation department would see that the way they had it in prior years was more timely!
I'd like to know with all the other waste I have seen in this district everwhere: What is the financial savings here? Why do I need this aggravation?
BOE, Where are you now? Who gave this directive?
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I would hope that the Transportation office would reconsider changing your child's bus stop since your location by OCR makes walking and crossing considerably more dangerous than bus stops on side streets with lower traffic and lower speed limits. OCR is known to have heavier traffic at the time of the school bus drop off.
ReplyDeleteLots of children are at bus stops that parents can't see so that may not be a strong argument for moving the bus stop although it has been considered successfully in some cases.
My concern for you (and all chidren who take buses) is that when it snows many sidewalks are not shovelled and there are drifts from the sonwplows. What will your child's path be then?
From what you described, it doesn't sound like the bus route would be noticeably longer if the route went back to the way it was in previous years.
There is a BOE meeting on Sept 13. Speak about this during Public Participation. Put your concerns in writing and hand that in also.
If this doesn't work, make a video of the new bus stop compared to what the bus stop used to be and YouTube it. A video is worth a thousand words.
We live on a relatively quiet side street but I'm still concerned that the school district makes things safe for ALL students who live by any of our major thoroughfares - OCR, S Oyster Bay Road, Woodbury Road and Manetto Hill Road.
Good luck and I hope this gets changed for you.
I'm curious who you spoke with at transportation. If it was just a secretary, you really should take the matter further. Call Mark Donovan. He has years of experience with the district's transportation office. He's also a dad and a grandpa. Your safety concerns are perfectly legitimate and if you haven't done so already, give him a chance to fix the situation.
ReplyDeleteIf you either can't speak to him or after doing so feel that you've still gotten nowhere, you have two options. You can contact the bus company or the superintendent. If you have a letter sent to Mr. Dempsey by certified mail, indicating the safety hazard, I cannot believe the matter won't be dealt with. If it's not, you can contact a board member who, as your elected official, should rectify the situation.
I know this is disturbing but I truly do not believe it is the school district's objective to put children in dangerous situations. Whether they care about the kids, I sometimes wonder but I do know that the liability behind what you're describing is definitely something they want to avoid.