An unexpected wave of morning traffic at a local elementary school led educators to plead with parents to keep safety in mind and send their children to school on the bus if at all possible.
Shortly after the holiday break, there was an uptick in the number of parents dropping their children off at Boght Hills Elementary School on Dunsbach Ferry Road in Cohoes instead of taking the bus as normal, according to North Colonie Central School District officials. Traffic was backing up onto Dunsbach Ferry Road and neighbors’ driveways.
“There was a pretty dangerous situation that happened where the line was so long (parents) didn’t want to wait. They were driving too wide right in the crosswalk where children were walking,” Boght Hills Principal Kim Greiner said. “Thankfully no one was hurt, but the potential for such caused us to really reinforce the rules.”
The traffic growth in traffic led to more cars driving over the crosswalk, which is a fire lane. The elementary school’s front layout consists of two drop off circles, one closer to the school for the busses and one for normal cars. Due to the increase in car volume, many parents were driving either in the bus area or dropping their kids off outside of drop off zones, resulting in students running across moving traffic in order to get into the building. Sometimes, the traffic was so heavy students were late to class.
Over the course of a few weeks, Greiner tried different methods to stop drivers from dropping their children off in the bus circle. She said she sent home flyers with students to give to their parents, sent out an alert via email, put up cones and had staff members outside directing traffic. Nothing seemed to help.
David Morlitz, a Colonie resident and Boght Hills parent, said he had to drop off his daughter’s forgotten books one morning and saw the dangerous situation in the elementary school’s parking lot. He suggested Greiner bring a police officer out to “scare the crap out of parents.” He said he was concerned for the safety of his daughter, a bus rider, and was worried she could get hit by one of the cars.
“I don’t know why people think they can break the rules. It makes it unsafe for everybody else,” Morlitz said.
Greiner said on Thursday, Jan. 24, the traffic died down when a Colonie police officer was stationed outside, but she still isn’t sure why there were so many cars to begin with. Possibilities include students running late in the morning or missing the bus, or parents not wanting their kids to wait for the bus in the recent cold weather.
Sheila McLean dropped her son off at Boght Hills once over the past month when he was running late and noticed the longer lines in front of the school.
“I saw parents dropping off kids before they were supposed to be. They just get out of the line early, leave the kids cutting across in front of traffic,” McClean said. “Certainly a child could have gotten hit. Nobody wants their kid to be in danger and try to dodge cars like they’re playing ‘Frogger.’”
Although no students walk to Boght Hills, bus drivers saw a decrease in riders, according to Greiner. She said some busses were only half full.
“Taxpayers are paying the same amount of costs for fueling a full bus when in fact it’s half empty,” she said. “It’d be great if they’d ride a school bus. It’s a safer mode of transportation.”
The severity of the situation at Boght Hills may be an anomaly. Bill DeVoe, the public information officer for the Bethlehem Central School District, said he is not aware of any increase in traffic at the district’s schools. Bob Hanlon, the public information officer for Scotia-Glenville Central School District, said their schools haven’t seen any considerable increase in drop offs either, though each year they do see a slight increase in drop offs during the colder months.
“When there are cold snaps, parents don’t want their kids standing at the bus stop. That’s the only thing we’ve seen again this year,” Hanlon said. “We haven’t noticed anything out of the usual.”
Hoping the word is finally out and there won’t be any more traffic problems, Greiner said they “safety of children is paramount” and she thinks parents are finally understanding — and following — the rules.
“Apparently, when parents see a police car they get scared and actually listen,” Morlitz said.