PORTLAND, Maine (NEWS CENTER) -- On Wednesday Portland students will be heading back to the classroom. That first day, for many, begins at the bus stop. In a consolidation effort Portland school buses will be making fewer stops this year. Parents in one Portland neighborhood, however, are concerned about safety at the stop where en to fifteen kids will be waiting.
The stop is located on Auburn Street and Garsoe Drive in Portland, a heavily trafficked area.
Parents are concerned their kids could be at risk. The problem, they claim, is that portion of Auburn Road does not have crosswalks. They also said there is a blind spot for drivers and a low curb which poses a safety hazard.
Rachel Beaulieu will be bringing her third grader to the bus stop, "There are no crosswalks around here. It is a commuter road, it comes straight off the Turnpike. There is a blind hill and traffic in the morning is between 35 and 40 miles per hour."
A few kids would need to walk in the bike lane against oncoming traffic to reach the bus. On their walk home, their backs would be to the traffic coming at them.
Jim Streeter has two kids starting school on Wednesday and said, "Consolidation is fine. We totally understand that. We have seen consolidation in our neighborhoods. We are fine to go down to points where it is a 25mph zone where the parents and kids know each other so there is a little bit of a community there...I think the concept of consolidation for efficiency is OK. It is just, you need to pick the right spot."
After several complaints, the district sent its deputy chief to inspect the intersection. He found despite concerns from parents, it is acceptable and fits the district's standards.
"I think our initial concerns is that they hadn't been to the location. So they chose the location and then said well let us go look at it based on your concerns," explained Streeter.
Beaulieu said, "We are just asking for them to listen to that fact that every parent has a problem with it. If every parent has a problem with it and we are the ones who live in the neighborhood and we are the ones and we are the ones who know our kids then you need to fix it."
Parents are still hopeful school officials will be open to discussing other options.
