Greenwich Public School Officials Address Transportation Concerns

GREENWICH, CT — School officials, realizing that the beginning of the new school year has presented some challenges to its transportation efforts, wrote to parents Friday to let them know that district is taking a proactive stance in addressing those challenges.

"Thank you again for your patience and support over the past several days," wrote school officials in an email Friday evening. "The beginning of the school year brings new routines, routes (bus, car, walking), students, drivers and traffic to our community. We recognize that the changes in school start and dismissal times would bring additional challenges. Our preparation and planning process for the new start and dismissal times was thoughtful and thorough however, there were some challenges that were unforeseen."

The email goes on to outline several specific areas where the district has seen some problems, such as overcrowded buses; delays around the Dingletown Road area where a bridge is being renovated; drivers needing time to get used to new out-of-town bus staging areas; traffic delays at the high school in the morning; and road grade steepness in some areas that make it slower for newer, high-capacity buses to travel, among others.

Board of Education members are scheduled to be briefed on the situation at its Sept. 14 meeting. Below is the text of the transportation email:

From the Greenwich Public Schools Transportation Office

Dear Greenwich Public Schools Families:

Thank you again for your patience and support over the past several days. The beginning of the school year brings new routines, routes (bus, car, walking), students, drivers and traffic to our community. We recognize that the changes in school start and dismissal times would bring additional challenges. Our preparation and planning process for the new start and dismissal times was thoughtful and thorough however, there were some challenges that were unforeseen. After carefully monitoring the causes of these challenges, we have identified the issues and have solutions that will mitigate them. The issues and solutions are:

• Some busses were overcrowded and we will be working to ensure those students riding the bus are are eligible for service.
• In June we received notice that the Dingletown Road Project would be completed before the start of school, it was not completed. This required adding detours, which added time to the routes that had not been expected. We received notice today, that the work should be completed by the end of the month.
• We have a multi-department town-wide approach for transportation to ensure students will get to school and home on time. The Police Department, Traffic Department, Department of Public Works (DPW), The Board of Education (BOE) - Department of Transportation, Communications Department, Director of School Safety, and the STA Company are working closely together to ensure safe arrivals and dismissals.
• In addition to the bus depot in Stamford, new staging areas in Port Chester and White Plains were added to accommodate the additional busses required for the change in school start times. This contributed to the delays as drivers got used to the new locations. Times for bus drivers to report for work have been adjusted.
• Traffic patterns around the High School area and North Street areas have been monitored. Police and DPW are working on traffic flow.
• New, larger 82 passenger busses are grounding out on the exit to Hillside Road due to the steepness of the drop between the road and sidewalk. It is taking between 5 and 10 minutes for busses to exit. DPW is determining a way to mediate the clearance space at the exit.
• Schools are not marking students tardy because of late busses.
• School bus routes have been changed at 4 schools:
  • Greenwich High School
  • Eastern Middle School
  • Western Middle School
  • North Street School

PLEASE DOWNLOAD THESE SCHEDULES (attached and also available on the secondary school websites) AND REVIEW PRIOR TO SCHOOL ON MONDAY

For the Parents of students who ride on Special Education Buses:

Thank you so much for your patience and support during the first week of school. We have been working with the transportation team to address each of your concerns on an individual basis. In response to our needs in special education, the transportation office has been authorized to add an additional bus. Next week, the transportation department will be reworking all of the special education bus routes to include the additional vehicle.

You will be contacted at the end of next week if your child’s pick up and/or drop off time will change. We expect to have all of the new Special Education bus routes in place by September 18.

We want to let you know how much we appreciate your patience as we address your concerns. We regret any inconvenience you and your child experienced at the start of this school year, but we are confident that we have addressed the challenges and issues. Your feedback is welcomed and has helped us to address the concerns and issues.

Please continue to report concerns or issues by:

- Following the link to Traffic/Bus Issues (or go to the GPS website homepage and click on the Traffic/Buss Issue? button just under the main photograph)

- Calling the Transportation Office at 203-625-7443 from 6:30 AM to 6:30 PM (Mon.-Fri.)

We continue to staff the Transportation Office with additional personnel and will be available to receive your phone calls from 6:30 AM to 6:30 PM. Please contact the Transportation Office at 203-625-7443 or visit the Greenwich Schools website and submit a bus issue form.

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