Douglas County parents say pickup line traffic worsened by bus cancellations
As Douglas County students enter their second week of the school year, it's also the second week of the district's rolling bus cancellations. And parents are noticing one problem is getting worse: traffic.
The new schedule means each bus route will have four weeks of service, then one week without. It boils down to about 13 routes across the district being without service at any time. Which is leading to more congestion and stress for parents in the parking lot.
Every school day, Tiffany Baker makes the drive to Highlands Ranch High School to pick up her daughter.
"Parents start arriving around two o'clock and then if you get there by 2:30, the traffic can be backed up all the way to University," Baker said.
It's a five-minute drive, but she usually leaves about 40 minutes early.
"School's not out for another almost 45 minutes and you can see people already starting to line up for the carpool," Baker said Monday while arriving to pick up her daughter.
While a high school parking lot is rarely free of traffic, Baker says this year, it's worse.
"Without the buses, there is more traffic out on the main roads," Baker said.
With rotating portions of Douglas County students now without bus service, more parents are forced to come get them, creating more congestion at pickup.
"It used to be that maybe we would see like 10 buses outside the middle school and I saw like two the other day," Baker said.
Baker is a stay-at-home mom, so she's able to dedicate time to the line. But other families say they're scrambling to find their kids transportation.
"Definitely not everyone has that luxury and we could definitely benefit having more bus drivers in Douglas County," Baker said.
The congestion, also compounded by confusion. Some parents are new to the pick-up line, and they share the parking lot with teen drivers.
"Some drop 'em off in the neighborhood at our crosswalk, some drivers don't always see the students crossing the walk so that can be dangerous," Baker said.
For pickup line rookies and vets alike, Baker recommends one thing.
"Pack a lot of patience!" Baker said.
The school district has said they are down over a hundred bus drivers going into the school year and can't afford to pay them competitively among a national driver shortage.
Their solution is a $66 million mill levy override and $484 million bond that would go in part to paying drivers more. Last week the school board voted unanimously to put that on the November ballot.
