The bus stop that we've been taking the boys to (over near the apartments) was eliminated this summer, along with a few others throughout the district...the district has been losing funds due to declining enrollments for years and these cuts have been showing up over time, one school closed, we lost the alternative calendar, the bus stop at the corner was eliminated, etc.
While, in some sense, the loss of the bus stop has made it easier for Suzanne in me in terms of drop off and pick up (we don't trust Heckyl and Jeckyl to walk home on their own, so, we drive them down and pick them up from the school), it's made a bad situation worse at the school in terms of traffic, etc. The last school board meeting had some of the other parents who have lost their bus service (the limit was extended from 1 mile to 1.25 miles) be very vocal in their complaints, and the Board and Administration seemed to indicate that they would accept proposals that were 'revenue-neutral' blah blah etc. etc. I had already emailed the board saying that the elimination of the bus stop had made the traffic worse, etc.
So, here's what I emailed the Board today.
I understand from watching the Board of Education meeting last night that you and the administration would accept and evaluate alternate bus routing proposals that would be revenue-neutral and within the capacity of the bus system. Please accept this email and accompanying images as a proposal to reroute Bus 27 (the Bennett Woods elementary bus run) and reestablish the Okemos Station bus stop eliminated during the budgeting of the 2008-2009 school year.
The image, Bus 27 – Current.jpg, shows the current routing of part of the Bus 27. As you can see, the bus comes south on Okemos Road and turns west on Hulett, makes two stops north of the RR tracks (within the 1.25 mile radius, I might add) and continues south on Hulett to the roundabout near Bennett Woods before heading east on Bennett to Okemos Road to continue the rest of the routing. This routing covers 1.98 miles as measured on Google Earth.
This proposal is to have the bus turn left on Capeside after heading south on Hulett road past the RR tracks. A left on Capeside, a left on Sower, a stop (with the bus on Sower) so that the children at Okemos Station can cross the road and board the bus, and then the bus continues to Okemos Road and turns right to continue the rest of the routing.
This proposal:
a) is shorter, measured at 1.70 miles on Google Earth
b) lets Bus 27 avoid the Bennett Woods roundabout as the children are walking to school
c) reestablishes the Okemos Station bus stop, reducing the traffic load at Bennett Woods. As I’ve submitted for your consideration before, the traffic lanes at Bennett Woods were not designed for the traffic loads currently occurring at the school (indeed, in the nineties, when the school was built, most students walked or were bussed, and very little drop off traffic was anticipated). Redistricting and the reduction in bus service have created a very dangerous situation at the school.
Thank you for your time and consideration,
Scott
The way it is now:
My proposal:
