Between the and the , Fairfield’s middle school students - especially those who attend - have been having a rough school year.
Parents protest the lengthy rides by picking up and dropping off their kids. Education officials urge students to use the district’s buses rather than clog the roads and bus loops.
The bottom line?
“We need a solution that will separate the car traffic from the bus traffic,” Superintendent of Schools David Title told Patch on Monday.
“We do have space for all our buses to line up at our middle schools; the mixing of the cars and the buses are the biggest concern at this time.”
The district-wide, long-term solution is to adjust the bus routes to shorten the time children spend on buses so they are encouraged to use the system. Title said officials are monitoring the time it takes the buses to actually run their routes versus the time set on their schedules. Officials are prepared to “adjust if necessary," he said.
“We constantly adjust bus routes throughout the year to smooth out our routes and this year is no exception,” Title assured.
A long-term solution for Tomlinson, the school facing the worst traffic problems, is to fix the lower-level parking lot so there is more room for parents who find it necessary to pick up and drop off their children. The town’s engineer Bill Hurley, police and education officials are working together to come up with a redesign plan, Title said.
Until that happens, Title’s advice persists: If a bus comes down your street, get your kids on it.
No bus? “We encourage those within walking distance to walk,” Title said.
