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More riders, fewer walkers
Parents driving their children to school create jams at schools not designed for a lot of traffic.
By JAN WESNER, Times Staff Writer
Published November 23, 2007
VALRICO Every afternoon, Lisa Bailey parks her green SUV in a driveway just off Nature's Way in Valrico. She waits for her daughters - ages 6 and 9 - to leave Alafia Elementary School. The driveway is about a quarter-mile from the school, but Bailey said it's better than dealing with the car line and the hordes of other parents picking up their kids. "I've sat in line up there for over an hour," she said. A generation ago, things were different: kids walked or took the bus to school. Today, more and more of them get driven to school. No precise figures exist, but transportation experts and school administrators all agree there's a growing trend of parents driving kids to school. "Parents are concerned about people attacking and potentially molesting their kids. They're concerned about driver safety and drivers being distracted," said Tom Mueller, senior engineer and project manager for the Hillsborough County schools' transportation department. Others cite convenience and weather as reasons that more people drive their kids to school. More cars means increased congestion and safety concerns for schools not designed to handle all that traffic. "Schools were built with the idea that there would be a couple of buses and maybe a faculty parking lot. Things have changed," said Gary Tate, who oversees school traffic issues for the county.. More cars means big bucks for the county, which has been forced to add turn lanes and make other changes at schools where the problem is getting out of control. And it's forced school officials to think more about traffic issues: New schools have extra turn lanes to prevent traffic back-ups on adjoining streets, and bigger driveways. Older schools have to be retrofitted. County commissioners allocated $7.5-million earlier this year for improvements to school exits and entrances, parking lots and adjacent streets. About $600,000 of that went to pay consultants to determine which schools had the biggest safety problems. The county was divided into two regions - east/south Hillsborough and north/west Hillsborough - and schools were ranked on a priority list. Each school was evaluated using a point system. Among the factors that got schools more points: the potential cost for lower-cost improvements and whether it is an elementary school. Durant High topped the list for east/south county. Dickenson Elementary in Tampa headed the north/west county list. The next step, Mueller said, is to seek bids for the work. A Dick Fischer, a consultant with 52 years experience in student transportation, doesn't see an end to the trend anytime soon. Harried parents use the morning drive to school as a way to squeeze in family time, he said. "The parents want to spend a few more minutes with the kids," Fischer said. "You use that time in the morning to communicate with the kids." School bus ridership also tends to decline immediately after a crash, though fewer children die on school buses each year than in cars. There have been at least three highly publicized bus crashes so far this year in eastern Hillsborough County, none with serious injuries. Tate, meanwhile, would like to see more done to encourage kids to walk to school. He thinks students should get physical education credit for walking, and that parents should consider car pooling more often. But he also knows parents will do anything to avoid the car line - except walk. He's seen parents drive their kids to school in golf carts. Every afternoon, Lisa Bailey parks her green SUV in a driveway just off Nature's Way in Valrico. She waits for her daughters -ages 6 and 9 - to leave Alafia Elementary School. The driveway is about a quarter-mile from the school, but Bailey said it's better than dealing with the car line and the hordes of other parents picking up their kids. "I've sat in line up there for over an hour," she said. A generation ago, things were different: kids walked or took the bus to school. Today, more and more of them get driven to school. No precise figures exist, but transportation experts and school administrators all agree there's a growing trend of parents driving kids to school. "Parents are concerned about people attacking and potentially molesting their kids. They're concerned about driver safety and drivers being distracted," said Tom Mueller, senior engineer and project manager for the Hillsborough County schools' transportation department. Others cite convenience and weather as reasons that more people drive their kids to school. More cars means increased congestion and safety concerns for schools not designed to handle all that traffic. "Schools were built with the idea that there would be a couple of buses and maybe a faculty parking lot. Things have changed," said Gary Tate, who oversees school traffic issues for the county. More cars means big bucks for the county, which has been forced to add turn lanes and make other changes at schools where the problem is getting out of control. And it's forced school officials to think more about traffic issues: New schools have extra turn lanes to prevent traffic backups on adjoining streets, and bigger driveways. Older schools have to be retrofitted. County commissioners allocated $7.5-million this year for improvements to school exits and entrances, parking lots and adjacent streets. About $600,000 of that went to pay consultants to determine which schools had the biggest safety problems. The county was divided into two regions - east/south Hillsborough and north/west Hillsborough - and schools were ranked on a priority list. Each school was evaluated using a point system. Among the factors that got schools more points: the potential cost for lower-cost improvements and whether it is an elementary school. Durant High topped the list for east/south county. Dickenson Elementary in Tampa headed the north/west county list. The next step, Mueller said, is to seek bids for the work. Dick Fischer, a consultant with 52 years of experience in student transportation, doesn't see an end to the trend anytime soon. Harried parents use the morning drive to school as a way to squeeze in family time, he said. "The parents want to spend a few more minutes with the kids," Fischer said. "You use that time in the morning to communicate with the kids." School bus ridership also tends to decline immediately after a crash, though fewer children die on school buses each year than in cars. There have been at least three highly publicized bus crashes so far this year in eastern Hillsborough County, none with serious injuries. Tate, meanwhile, would like to see more done to encourage kids to walk to school. He thinks students should get physical education credit for walking, and that parents should consider car pooling more often. But he also knows parents will do anything to avoid the car line - except walk. He's seen parents drive their kids to school in golf carts. Jan Wesner can be contacted at 661-2439 or jwesner@sptimes.com. FAST Facts Schools' traffic woes Schools were ranked on a sliding scale to determine which ones needed improvements the most, and where it would be easiest to make those improvements. The schools selected for improvements in eastern Hillsborough County: Durant High, with 40 points. Symmes Elementary, 38 points Mulrennan Middle, 38 points Sessums Elementary, 38 points Mango Elementary, 36 points Bevis Elementary, 34 points Burns Middle, 34 points Lithia Springs Elementary, 34 points Burnett Middle, 34 points Walden Lakes Elementary, 34 points Brandon High , 32 points Alafia Elementary, 30 points Mintz Elementary, 28 points Bing Elementary, 28 points Cimino Elementary, 28 points Boyette Springs Elementary, 26 points
[Last modified November 21, 2007, 07:50:51]
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