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Bus Plans A Concern

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By COURTNEY CAIRNS PASTOR

The Tampa Tribune

Published: July 30, 2008

CITRUS PARK - Families across the area are discovering changes to children's bus stops, and some of the adjustments are raising safety concerns.

The Hillsborough County school district is in the second phase of a makeover to its transportation system that started last year in southern Hillsborough. This year, the district is targeting stops for schools in northwestern Hillsborough and south and central Tampa.

Some stops are getting moved or eliminated, and the district is redesigning routes to save time and money. The changes are designed to boost efficiency of a transportation system that serves more than 90,000 students daily.

But parents have pointed out that what looks good on paper doesn't always work in real life.

The district held community meetings in the spring and followed them up with another series, the first of which took place locally at Sickles on July 22. A similar meeting followed the next day at Leto, and two more are scheduled; one at Alonso on Thursday and one at Chamberlain on Monday.

Families also will receive packets in the mail with information about students' bus stops. Although they do not need to attend the community meetings, the gatherings give parents a chance to talk to officials and get questions answered on the spot. John Franklin, the district's general manager of transportation, and others in his department attended the Sickles meeting, as well as school choice representatives and principals.

Parents lined up in front of laptops so district employees could look up their addresses and assigned stop. They met one-on-one with Franklin to talk specifics if needed.

Franklin said some had not heard the department was reorganizing and wanted to know why. Some complained of busy streets, bad sidewalks and a lack of lighting near a few new stops and asked him to research those factors before making changes.

Robert Tykot, who has a son at Sickles, got in line to ask why his neighborhood of Van Dyke Farms would only have two bus stops. Students will have to walk farther to those locations, he said, and he worried about students encountering bad weather or walking alone before dawn.

"If I had girls, there's no way I'd have them walk there in the dark," Tykot said.

Longer treks will prompt more parents to drive their children or more high school juniors and seniors to drive themselves, Tykot said, increasing traffic congestion at schools.

Michael Steighner lives in Carillon Estates in Odessa and spotted a new stop that alarmed him. It was farther than the original and required a walk down an unlit stretch of the neighborhood on a bumpy sidewalk, past a wooded area and a lake with an alligator. Three sexual predators are listed as living nearby, he said.

Steighner has a student enrolled at Sickles who would have to be at the bus stop at 6:15 a.m. The previous stop had students waiting in a well-lit area just outside a gated community.

Franklin said his office will look into any safety concerns and make changes if needed. In June, families in a neighborhood off Gunn Highway and Cain Road successfully argued to move a stop off Gunn.

TRANSPORTATION REORGANIZATION

The Hillsborough County school district is in the second phase of a plan to overhaul its busing system. Officials have proposed changes for schools in areas 1, 2 and 4. Community meetings started last week. Remaining meetings begin at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday at Alonso and Monday at Chamberlain. For details or to find out whether a stop has changed, contact the transportation department at (813) 982-5500.

Here are local schools in the areas that could be affected:

AREA 1: Dickenson Elementary

AREA 2: Alexander, Bay Crest, Bellamy, Bryant, Cannella, Citrus Park, Crestwood, Davis, Deer Park, Hammond, Lowry, McKitrick, Morgan Woods, Northwest, Schwarzkopf, Town and Country, Westchase and Woodbridge elementaries; Davidsen, Farnell, Martinez, Pierce, Smith, Walker and Webb middle schools; Alonso, Leto and Sickles high schools.

AREA 4: Carrollwood, Egypt Lake, Forest Hills, Lake Magdalene and Twin Lakes Elementaries; Adams Middle; Chamberlain High; and Caminiti Exceptional Center.

Source: Hillsborough County school district

Reporter Courtney Cairns Pastor can be reached at (813) 865-1503 or cpastor@tampatrib.com.

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