Students at Urbana Middle School have one of the more dangerous routes to school in the county, having to cross Md. Route 80 en masse at the beginning and end of the day.
To help alleviate the problem, Frederick County Public Schools transportation staff is considering busing students to school. The current standard is not to bus middle school students who live within 1.75 miles of the school, meaning many Urbana students have to walk.
Busing would reduce the number of students crossing the road near the school, which can be up to 350 on nice days, according to Tom Buckley, the assistant manager of the Frederick County Public Schools transportation department.
Currently, students need to cross Md. Route 80, a highly trafficked road that sees even more traffic when parents come to drop off or pick up their students from school. Cars also back up onto Route 80 as parents wait to pick up students.
Buckley shared two proposed plans to improve safety with 90 parents and students at Urbana Middle School on Jan. 18.
One plan calls for busing students who live in the outer areas of the villages, such as Beal’s Farm Road, Broadstone Circle, and Notting Hill Drive, by picking them up from assigned bus stops, Buckley said.
That plan would require two buses at a cost of about $214,000, transporting 100 students. The cost includes maintenance and staff of two new buses.
The second proposal includes two buses and would create a shuttle system to pick up students from central locations, such as the Highlands Recreation Center, Buckley said. The plan costs about the same, $213,000, but would transport 167 students to and from school.
If the school were to implement both plans and take 267 students to school the cost would be about $427,000.
The Board of Education will discuss the transportation problem at its Feb. 8 meeting.
The school system and State Highway Administration have been working to make the crossing safer since 2006, installing pedestrian signals, school zone warning signs, extending walk time and adding an additional lane on Pontius Court. However, there has been a renewed focus since a parent was hit while crossing in November.
Sam DeLaurence, a transportation engineer with the State Highway Administration, said there was no easy solution to alleviate traffic and help students cross easily.
“This is a common problem,” he said. “You’re looking at a high volume of traffic in a short period of time. No matter what you do, there’s going to be some pain.”
The Frederick County Sheriff’s Office has paid for a crossing guard at the school to help control the large groups of students. The crossing guards are paid about $11 per hour.
But none of the attempted solutions have helped cut down the number of students who need to cross the road.
Dr. Theresa Alban, superintendent of Frederick County Public Schools, said the plans would not be implemented until the next school year for budget reasons.
At least one of the parents in attendance was happy to see busing was a viable option. Julie Virnelson has a son in seventh grade at Urbana Middle, and had three other children who previously attended the school. She said she lives across the street from the school, but drives her son rather than let him cross Md. Route 80.
“I’m hopeful that with the Board of Education that we have right now can get something done,” she said. “We had a good turnout and I’m hoping we get enough parent support to see something done. I thought the ideas of shuttles and buses are great, but we still need a crossing guard.”
Sheriff Charles “Chuck” Jenkins, who attended Wednesday’s meeting, said the primary problem with the safety of the crossing is that the large mass of students tends to get unruly.
“Please don’t take this the wrong way,” he said. “Kids don’t pay attention. They’re pushing and shoving, swinging backpacks, using cell phones, iPods and others devices, and not paying attention. … I think a big part would be to sit down with your kids individually and tell them to be aware of their surroundings, stop using their devices and pay attention to the crossing guard.”
tlaino@gazette.net
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