This morning I drove my daughter in to Shafer because of the wet roads. I'm glad we did. Normally we walk east on Prospect to Franklin, and cross Tatamy Road at that intersection, then around the corner to Liberty and up the hill to the school. I often wonder how so many accidents are avoided between 7:50 and 8:05 as parents and commuters converge on the odd intersection that results from Victory Lane and Liberty Street meeting at Tatamy Road. Cars coming from Victory lane sit in the middle of the intersection as those on Tatamy try to turn around them up Liberty to drop off.
This morning as I was driving down Tatamy toward this intersection there was a 'flag' ahead sign and luckily the crew was on Franklin, not yet to Tatamy Road where some metal plates have been covering work that began late last week.
After dropping her off, I turned down Bank Street to Fairview and down to Tatamy Road where string of cars were now stopped with crews working in the intersection of Tatamy and Franklin. It was 7:55 a.m.
Had the crew waited ten minutes, traffic would have been reduced significantly. And it would have been much safer.
What struck me is that this is another case of creating a bigger problem than need be because there was a failure to share/access readily available information.
UGI trucks were on Prospect and it is a state road, maybe UGI and PADOT don't know about the school or the bell schedule, but a simple call to the police or borough ought to have alerted someone to the fact that school will result in higher traffic during that fifteen minute window and waiting until 8:05 to start would be less disruptive and safer.
9 comments:
Good point!
There is also increased traffic on Tatamy road at 7:15 AM due to Middle school traffic.
The best way to avoid the whole issue is make your kids take the bus to school. That's what they're there for. I don't ever remember mom or dad driving us to school. Not only will this reduce traffic significantly,but drastically decrease the probability of an accident occurring because moms and dads forgetting common sense and thinking that the traffic laws don't apply to them since it's "only for a minute".
What bus? (allow me to rant a bit, this is a topic that drives me nuts;-)
If you live in the borough, you have no busing unless your child has an IEP or attends private school.
If you live on the west end near gracedale, you walk. The apartments beside Pizza Hut, you walk. Out by the Park, but in the Borough, you walk.
Go to the MS on Tatamy Road, you walk, while the kids in Farmview Estate whose homes border the MS property are bused.
And then, to secure our children's safety, part of our borough taxes go to paying for crossing guards (half the amount up until this year), while we pay for other children to be bused.
I don't mean this against you (concernedparent, it is a rant against the NASD policies), but it is a gripe I have with the NASD. I learned first hand how the NASD operates during my term there as Director of Administrative Services. One area I was responsible for was busing.
I have no problem and enjoy walking my children to school when the building my child attends is in the municipality in which I live (and is within a half mile each way). When it is not, I think it is not only unfair, but it is inequitable compared to other district students.
I've heard the complaints of parents in the townships upset because the stop is not in front of their home. Imagine if you lived in Tatamy and every child walked to a central location and was bused from there and called walkers.
The bottom line is when the current MS was built no one thought about borough walkers. So a shuttle was created.
What happens when the building becomes a 4-6th grade intermediate school? More parents will drive their kids to the building than they do today.
The NASD is going to have to begin to bus borough students who attend school outside the borough.
They need to treat borough students the same way they do those in the townships, especially as it relates to busing and walking distances.
And yes, if they provide buses to students in the borough you will see reduced drop-offs at the buildings.
On the other hand, when the new MS is built and a stop light is installed at East Lawn and Schoeneck, does anyone think a crossing guard will be placed there to have students walk down the hill to the MS and HS?
Two miles by public road for secondary students from the edge of school property. I'd imagine that would cover a good portion of that hillside.
I'll bet not one of those students is declared a walker.
Yet I'll also bet every student in the borough remains one.
I somewhat agree with concernedparent regarding the number of kids who are driven to school. Case in point:
My son was sent home from school with a sore throat on Monday morning. By the time I got the call, left work and got to the school, it was 10:35. Imagine my surprise at finding NO WHERE TO PARK anywhere near the school. As it turned out, I ended up parking West of the School on Victory Lane. Not too far, but much further to walk with a sick kid in tow. Meanwhile, there were plenty of parents parked in front along the road waiting to pick up their kids.
I'm sure at Shafer there are some people who receive busing and chose to drive their kids anyway, but I'd guess most of the parking problem is due to the fact that there is no public parking coupled with a lack of busing for many students.
Further, with no parking, any volunteers who come in have to park on the street.
I'd guess all the spots in the back along victory lane are for teachers and staff, and most if not all out front are reserved as well.
In Lower Nazareth, where the number of walkers is minimal (I do believe there are some from the neighborhoods on the side of the building) the parent drop off was so bad they built that new parking lot last year. In that case the problem was from parents who did receive busing and drove anyway. We all footed that bill.
Another problem with parent's driving when children are on the bus rosters is that the seat remains empty. So a bus could be rostered at 50 and have 30 riding. A couple of those together and we could be using less buses. Would save financially and environmentally.
NOC states:"Two miles by public road for secondary students from the edge of school property. I'd imagine that would cover a good portion of that hillside.
I'll bet not one of those students is declared a walker."
Those kids are walkers because they have to cross 191/east Lawn which is one of the 10 roads deemed hazardous by Penn Dot in the NASD---if your child has to cross or walk along one of those 10 roads you are automatically entitled to bus service no matter the distance to/from school.
oops meant NOT walkers
Justmyopinion,
That is only partially correct...You can not walk along a hazardous road, but you can cross it if there is a controlled intersection.
E.Walnut/Tatamy Road is also deemed hazardous, yet everyone south of it has to cross it every day in the borough.
In Lower Nazareth they installed the 15 mph school zone flashers, a cross walk, and a crossing guard to ensure safe crossing across a hazardous road.
When parents in the new neighborhoods complained that their children would have to walk after being bused (the developer turned the roads over to the township and the walking distance was calculated using them - 1.5 for elementary) the district just took the crossing guard away so they would all be bused.
Again, no problem busing students, but at least be fair and consistent in the way it is applied district-wide.
Have you ever tried to leave Farmview estates in the morning between 7-7:30AM? I live in the development and timed myself twice at the intersection of Farmview and tatamy. I waited 9 minutes one day to make a left, and 11 minutes another day. My son had to wait 15 minutes one day just to cross Friedenstahl because of the traffic. I'm waiting for someone to be killed getting in or out of the development because of the traffic. It won't hurt the kids to walk to school. Remember the old saying "When I was in school, I had to walk 4 miles in the snow with bare feet?" My four year old daughter walks three miles a day with my husband and I just as daily exercise. We walk all through town and back to our development....she isn't complaining...I don't mean to rant either, but kids are too coddled. There are parents in my development who drive their kids to school, and worse yet, parents in my development who drive their kids literally to the stop sign at the end of their street, and create driving hazards because they are parked right up against the stop signs. Now that's rediculous, and it's only going to get worse with the new school being built. We'll be gridlocked.
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