Students with Bus Stops on New Road get New Stops

Transportation issues dominated the discussion at Centennial School Board meeting Tuesday evening.

Several parents turned out to express concern over their child's new bus stop, following the . This group included multiple parents with concerns regarding two bus stops on New Road in Southampton.

Board Member Kati Driban said most of these concerns were heard at the Operations Committee meeting and did not receive the support of enough members to move to the full board. They were placed on the agenda only because the parents persisted and reached out to administration to have them placed on the board's meeting agenda.

“ Much of the problem [with these particular issues are] created by parents who drive to stop and sit and wait for the bus,” she said. 

Miller said he personally visited the stops on New Road and he doesn’t blame the parents for driving their children to the stops.

He said New Road is a notoriously dangerous road, as it is a known cut through between two major thoroughfares, County Line Road and Street Road.

Jamie Dolt, of Buckstone Drive, said New Road is such a problem that she does not even allow her children to walk or to ride their bikes there.

“And you are asking me to put my children out there to wait for a bus?” she asked. “Our children are in jeopardy and we would like it changed.” 

Marcia Chast, also of Buckstone Drive, appeared before the board with several elementary school-aged children in tow, to illustrate the age of the children being asked to wait on this so-called dangerous road. 

“The best argument [for changing these stops] is standing behind me,” she said.

A third resident of Buckstone Drive, Colleen Finnegan, echoed her neighbors’ sentiments. She said the sheer number of kids at the stop, coupled with the fact that the average age of the group is 7 years old, poses a safety concern.

 “[New Road] is full of people [who are not even from the neighborhood] just speeding through to get where they are going,” she said.

Board President Andrew Pollock acknowledged that the safety of the children was a concern but suggested that parents might want to call the local police, as drivers who ignore speed limits and stop signs are a problem for everyone, not just the school children.

The measures to change the bus stops on New Road passed, but not unanimously. Board members Thomas Hezel, Thomas Reinboth, and Kati Driban offered dissenting votes on both decisions. Board President Andrew Pollock offered a dissenting vote on one of the stops, but concurred with the majority of the board in favor of changing the other.

Transportation Supervisor Wayne Robinson said action would begin on changing the stops approved board first thing in the morning. He estimated that the new stops would be in place by the end of the week.

He said all parties affected by the change would be notified through the district.