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1. Parentof2
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   Why oh why do the buses at WSHS not use the bus lane between WSHS and Hiawatha?? Trying to drop kids off behind the school is impossible with all the buses and on street parking. Seems a waste of a perfectly good thruway.

   Posted 6 months ago #         

2. JanS
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   Have you brought this up with the school?

   Posted 6 months ago #         

3. Parentof2
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   Should I contact the principal or is it a district thing?

   Posted 6 months ago #         

4. Que
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   You could call the principal, but in the end, it is determined by the Transportation Department of Seattle Public Schools.

   Posted 6 months ago #         

5. hopey
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   The head of SPS Transportation is Tom Bishop -- tabishop@seattleschools.org .

   Posted 6 months ago #         

6. anonyme
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   I've been struggling with school bus issues related to Arbor Heights Elementary for years. SPS would not do anything, but instead referred me to First Student. The top dog there is Gail Heaton, but I have frequently spoken with a dispatcher named Tony Hartzell who has been quite helpful.

   Posted 6 months ago #         

7. sbre
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   Looking at 'Parentof2's question from a chess-board prospective I think the answer is due to physics and lack of patience.

   The full-sized school buses are 38-40 feet long thus it takes a lot more room for them to safely make a turn, AND due to the distance from the rear axle to the rear bumper when they make turns they encounter a 'tail-swing' (when the bus turns left the tail-swing goes right, and vice-a-verse-a). Both of these require a lot more space than a car does.

   In a perfect world no one would park their car within 30 feet of a corner or in this case the exiting driveway between the school and the community center. Doing so would allow the space needed for the buses to exit the drop-off zone unimpeded.

   However, with the number of students who are dropped-off in the mornings by parents (many of whom are in a hurry) the buses might find it extremely hard to find an opening in traffic that will allow them to exit the driveway and enter the lane of traffic. Being stuck in the driveway for the length of time until a large enough opening in traffic that would allow them to get back on the road would probably mean that they arrive late to start their next pick-up route, add to that the additional buses also waiting to exit the driveway and then we’d have a lot of kids late to school due to the bus(es) being stuck.

   Loading/unloading along the backside of the school makes it safer and easier for the drivers to successfully negotiate the tight spaces of that area and get on to their next route(s), some drivers still have two more routes to do after dropping off at WSHS. Sadly not enough car drivers will stop and wait far enough away and long enough for a bus to their thing.

   If coming out of the driveway and a car is accidentally hit by a bus, then we have a situation that will take quite a while to sort out; paperwork to be filled out by the bus driver, IF the car's owner can be found, etc.

   Posted 6 months ago #         

8. Parentof2
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   How about opening that bus drop off area to parents to drop their kids off. We could drive in from Cal. Ave and drive through to Walnut to exit.

   Posted 6 months ago #         

9. Parentof2
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   I know buses were using that lane a few years ago. Was something not thinking it through for the possible problems with cars?

   Posted 6 months ago #         

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