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Letter to the editor

Today's Letters: PSTA buses can't be used for school routes

By LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Published October 3, 2007

Why not use PSTA buses to take our kids to school? Sept. 19, letter

Although the idea suggesting that PSTA buses be used for school transportation sounds like a "no-brainer," transit agencies like PSTA are strictly forbidden by federal law to run school bus routes. If schools happen to be along regular operating routes, as some are here in Pinellas County, then students are free to use our service, but PSTA is forbidden to implement school-oriented routes.

Additionally, PSTA bus operators have no disciplinary recourse with unruly students other than to stop the bus and call law enforcement. On school buses, however, children have to abide by conduct set forth by the school system and can be disciplined by the school system accordingly.

School bus drivers are also given lists of students who are allowed to ride the bus, which greatly enhances security. Plus, school bus operators run the same route every day - sometimes for years - so they know the children and where they live, whereas PSTA drivers frequently change routes and work shifts. PSTA buses also have rear doors through which children can get off the bus, perhaps at the wrong stop, without the driver noticing.

Perhaps most important is the fact that traffic laws forbid cars to pass a stopped school bus, thus allowing students to safely cross the street. That's not the case with transit vehicles. Cars are free to pass PSTA buses as long as there is a clear lane to do so. This takes on even greater significance when you realize that PSTA buses are routed along major arteries whereas school buses run through quieter, neighborhood streets.

These are but a few of the many reasons why transit agencies nationwide do not provide anything more than ancillary service for school transportation.

Bob Lasher, PSTA manager of community relations, St. Petersburg

Why not use PSTA buses to take our kids to school? Sept. 19, letter

It worked for her in N.J.

When I was a schoolgirl in New Jersey in 1942, I used public buses to go to high school (as there was only one in town). We were issued bus tickets with time and date on them, which the public buses accepted. It worked out fine.

Eileen Albanese, South Pasadena

An accomplice in death? Sept. 23, letter

'Citizens' part of problem

Kudos to Eric Rubin's defense of the homeless in St. Petersburg. It was not only well-written but heartfelt and true. How many more are so close to being homeless with rising property taxes and never-ending foreclosures?

Charles Cummings was indeed a quiet, harmless human being. As for the "resident, business owner and law-abiding citizen in St. Petersburg," please sit quietly for seven more years. You're part of the problem in our town.

Kathy Cole, St. Petersburg

Dad's word puts off evictions Sept. 26, story

More condos a mistake

In response to this story regarding Harbor Lights Mobile Home Park and developer John Loder, I say that he is no angel. He has ruined the lives of thousands of Pinellas County residents, many of them elderly, by purchasing properties and evicting the residents.

I myself was a victim of Loder three years ago when he purchased my apartment complex, and I was forced to move. Residents were not evicted, but living conditions became intolerable once the construction crews started renovations. The EPA even had to be called. I was new to Florida at the time, and my opinion of the state and its politics has been forever tainted by my experience.

The complex was converted to condos, and to this day, they sit empty most of the time. What a waste!

In this market, it is unbelievable that Loder wants to build more condos and the like, that in the end will sit unsold and empty. This is not the Florida I moved to. Somebody needs to put a leash on Loder, and a limit on all this building!

Susan Wyatt, Gulfport

Like 'em, hate 'em Sept. 19, story on Muscovy ducks

Ducks are great neighbors

When I read this story about the good citizens of Kenneth City, it was like reading a horror novel. Adults and people in authority teaching children to torture helpless animals is unbelievable. It made me sick.

I purchased my home in the White Lake district because of the ducks and other wildlife in the area. In our neighborhood, folks delight in wildlife, treat animals kindly and watch out for their safety. Although many ducklings hatch, the large number of natural predators prevent them from surviving. Hawks, egrets, herons, turtles, raccoons and opossums are just a few.

For the first time in five years, we have a brood that is growing. The neighbors are delighted and count heads every day. People who live in our neighborhood drive slowly and watch out for "the babies." My home and yard are lovely, and ducks do not damage the appearance in any way. In fact, many folks in our neighborhood have no need for chemical pesticides; insects are the mainstay of a duck's diet.

Muscovy ducks are fearful of people; they will not eat from your hand, even if they know you. They do not bite children or adults - unless being tortured, perhaps.

I feel sorry for the kind and gentle neighbors in Kenneth City who must endure life side by side with brutal sadists.

D.E. Brown, St. Petersburg

City considers cell phone tower Sept. 23, story

Imagine the reception

Why not create a cell phone tower in a form that could be a tourist attraction. I don't know the requirements for such a tower, but I suspect that a call for artistic proposals from local craftspersons or artists with specifications would result in a wonderful creation that would bring in tourist dollars as well as rental revenue.

Then it might not even have to be put in an out-of-the-way place.

Willi Rudowsky, St. Petersburg

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[Last modified October 2, 2007, 23:07:40]