Bus Loop Two
After much deliberation after the last meeting, we have come up with another possibility for the loop. A lot of the comments I have heard concern child safety regarding cars and buses sharing the same space. In addition the space dedicated for students playing. The attached version maintains a ‘loop’ around the building but it will only be for buses and will only have traffic during morning drop off and dismissal. It requires removing all of the parking for cars from behind the building. The roll gate that is currently in the middle of the blacktop will be moved to the very western end of the building. This allows for the basketball courts to remain, morning line up to remain, we gain the other inner courtyard as an area for morning bus drop off. The concerns about traffic on Jackson as buses exits are minimized. All of the staff parking would be moved to grass area on either side of the bus lane. Cars and buses do not cross each other AND children and cars spaces are NOT shared as currently exist. Next year as we move into the final stage of reconfiguration we MUST address the bus concerns at Jackson. More than 80% of the students are eligible to arrive by bus and must have a SAFE means of entering and exiting the building. Of course the same is true for walkers as well as parent pick up. By going around the back of the building buses can load from 4 different exterior doors in a safe and expedient manner. Walkers can be released at the front and West exits.
Our children need the playground, blacktop, grass and ballfield before school, afterschool and during their freetime. Creating a bus loop severely decreases their “space”. Might the Village of Mineola agree to painting a “Tiger Stripe” on Jackson Avenue as it has painted in front of the Village Hall? This could help with the crossing of students, couldn’t it? I agree wholeheartedly that safety of the students is primary. Who supervises the children crossing now? I am not on Jackson Ave at dismissal to observe, but someone STOPS the traffic, don’t they?
I think before every decision I make. I gather facts, speak with the people involved, ask for opinions and present options to the Board of Education. Children need to safely enter and exit the building- whether they walk or ride a bus or get picked up in a car. I will continue to explore all the options and make a recomendation to the Board.
PLEASE DO NOT LOOP AT JACKSON. WHY NOT PUT ALL THE BUSSES ON JACKSON AVENUE. IT CAN BE DONE WITHOOUT SPENDING THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS WHICH WE ARE SUPPOSED TO BE SAVING. THAT IS THE REASON WE ARE CLOSING 2 SCHOOLS. WHY ARE WE SPENDING SO MUCH MONEY FOR THESE CHANGES WHICH YOU THINK ARE SO GREAT FOR OUR SCHOOL SYSTEM? WE NEED TO SAVE AS MUCH AS WE CAN WHERE EVER WE CAN. STOP SPENDING NEEDLESSLY. THINK BEFORE YOU MAKE YOUR DECISIONS.THE KIDS NEED THEIR PLAYGROUND AND BASEBALL AREA.
Dr. Nagler, I can appreciate your concerns for the 75% of school bused next year. Have you considered what would happen to the baseball field and playground ? I notice the bus loop would flow around building , but I would hate to lose another field for our children. I am concerned the parking lot now moves on to the baseball field and playground.Please tell me there is a better plan.
I will be presenting another option at the next BOE meeting that will cover many of the questions posed. The bottom line is over 75% of the school next year will be eligible to be bused. CHildren must have a safe method of exiting and entering buses especially when snow is on the ground.
Is there a reason why the buses can’t continue to drop off the children in the morning on Marcellus? This way the morning drop off and line up is left undisturbed.
The afternoon pick up seems to be the issue….staging the buses so the kids can get on without having to walk across the street and between buses and cars.
The $300k construction is a lot to go through to fix a 20 minute issue. And we lose the blacktop which is heavily used in the afternoon.
Has the district looked into asking the Village to change the direction of Jackson? The way the building is situated and the directions of the streets do not give us a lot of options for allowing the buses to line up with the doors on the building side.
Would it be crazy to have a bus loop starting on the south side of Saville going north along the building and exiting where the parking entrance is now? I don’t know if a bus can make that turn.
Or maybe rethink the loop entering on Marcellus and exiting on Jackson. Have the buses pull up and the kids get on as the buses arrive. Similar to what they do at the MS. I realize it puts a lot of traffic on that corner.
I like Artie Barnett’s rendition. It seems much more efficient!
I think it is a must for all with a say in this decision making process (if it hasn’t been done already) is to physically be at Jackson Avenue for a couple of days in the morning & also at dismissal to see what the actual activity is & to witness the traffic flow ~ all together. As I understand it, most Board Members did not/do not have a child that attended Jackson Avenue School, so, in my opinion, a clear image is not had as to what the daily activity is around the area. This all looks very different on paper then it does in “real life” The back of the building is the hub of all happenings before & after school. On nice days, children are on the playground by 8:15am & many remain afterschool sometimes until 4pm. We also have a bunch of Middle School students that walk over to to Jackson & wait for younger siblings to be dismissed. Some wait on the playground, others use the Quiet Zone & do their HW. .You would taking away the piece of mind of parents that need their older siblings to pick up their brother or sister after school.
Sorry, I guess I wasn’t clear. The walkers will have to get to the back of the building in order to access the morning line-up area. The only way, other than to have everyone come through the building, is to either walk through where the teachers are pulling in, or to walk along the bus loop. The playground area, which many children play on before school and the line-up area will be seperated by the bus road. It seems like a lot of foot, bus and teacher viehicle action all at the same time.
That is why there is a designated area for them before line up
In theory yes, but in reality, walkers are currently arriving before, during and after the buses.
Morning line up should occur after the children are dropped off
Dawn Cox mentioned an idea on the Loop 1 thread that has some merit. It involves getting rid of the shed but other than that could be another idea to look at. Staging 9 busses at the corner of Marcellus and Jackson. I again did a rough photo shop of the idea.
Understand this idea deletes the work on Sayville an behind the school.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c391/20andin/school/jax-loop-2a.gif
Dr. Nagler, First, thanks for listening to the concerns and working on a better plan. One part of this new drawing that I must still question is when you say that morning line-up will remain. Currently, morning line-up exists in the area between the current roll gate and the retaining wall (from west to east of the property). If the bus “loop” runs through there, it will be unsafe and virtually impossible for morning line-up to remain. Parents and children would have to enter the back area of the building in conjunction with the buses.