Wednesday, September 17, 2003
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Wednesday, September 17, 2003 |
Ideas offered by citizen's panel on buses turned over to BOEBy J. FRANK
LYNCH
For a brief few minutes Monday, the 10 citizen members of the Fayette County School Board's Transportation Task Force thought they were off the hook. Having met for a second marathon session to iron out issues and offer solutions to restore bus routes scaled back due to budget concerns, chairman Fred Phillips declared it "officially disbanded" after presenting his final report to the board. But Board Member Janet Smola stopped Phillips before he could sit down and questioned exactly what it was the panel was recommending. Scouring the records of phone calls, e-mails and complaints filed by parents in the first few days of school in August, the task force was able to identify the significant issues and came up with a series of "ideas" for resolving those issues in their final report. Smola didn't think it was what the board ordered. "Now we have a bunch of recommendations without knowing which suggestions are the favored ones, or most important to the committee members," she said. "We weren't asked to do that," said Phillips, head of purchasing for the school system. Superintendent John DeCotis interjected, "I think that at this point in time, if the board would allow us to consider these recommendations we will come back to you with some policy changes as soon as possible. We've acted fast so far, and we need to get these changes in place as soon as possible." Board chairman Terri Smith pointed out that any action by the board Monday on the task force suggestions would have been made moot anyway. "The staff has to consider the feasibility of any of these ideas before they can be implemented," she said. Smola was concerned that task force members might feel strongly about a particular solution, but on the advice of staff the board would make policy of another. She suggested that the task force members return one last time to prioritize their suggestions, and Phillips agreed that was feasible. No immediate deadline for the request was given, but DeCotis emphasized that it needed to happen as soon as possible.
Transportation Task Force Recommendations
ISSUE: Bus stops moved from inside subdivisions to trunk routes at neighborhood entrances. SOLUTIONS OFFERED: If it is a safe bus top, make no change; have the bus turn into the neighborhood and make one stop, understanding that five minutes will be added to the route times for each stop; ask parents and neighbors to work together to create a safe environment; create a task force to hear complaints in the future and try to address citizen concerns before they have to come before the board.
ISSUE: Elementary children walking too far to the bus stop. SOLLUTIONS OFFERED: Measure the distance from the child's home to the bus stop, and if it is less and .5 mile make no change. If more than .5 mile, establish a new stop; reduce the distance for elementary students from .5 mile to .3 mile, For the youngest students, ages 4-6, have the distance changed from .5 mil to .3 mile from their home to the nearest stop.
ISSUE: Children walking more than .5 mile to school within the walk zone. SOLUTIONS OFFERED: Through communication with the public, clarify the difference between .5 mile radius from the school and .5 mile walking distance to the school. The walk zone is based on the radius; Keep the present .5 walk zone from the school and make no change.
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