WEST JORDAN, Utah (ABC 4 News) - Some parents say their children's safety is being disregarded at a bus stop in West Jordan.
Kids are standing close to the highway where cars go as fast as 67 miles an hour. “Fast. Everybody goes really fast right there,” said Bryn Johnson, a concerned mother.
ABC 4 went back to that neighborhood today to see if there is a better place for the kids to wait for the bus. Wilshire Place Apartments are right next to the bus stop. The manager told me, they don't have a problem with the bus coming in because other buses use their driveway all the time.
That led us back to the Jordan School District to ask why they aren't taking this opportunity to get the children off the busy highway? “This is really only the safest option,” said Steve Dunham, the district spokesperson.
Dunham said it's not safe for a driver to go inside the complex. “It's a difficult situation. It's a 40 foot bus that doesn't fit in the loop of the apartment complex. If it isn't plowed properly we have a 40 foot vehicle that could easily slide into multiple other vehicles,” he pointed out.
Dunham added their search for safety isn't over. “If you look by the apartment complex and see the construction along that road, the best is for the bus to pull up into the turn lane and block the turn lane,” he commented.
One mother doesn't agree with this decision. “There is no issue with that aside from the district's belief that it is not efficient for them to go into the complex,” said Jennifer Wilson, another concerned mother.
Johnson said even if police patrol traffic here, the posted speed limit is 50 miles an hour. That's enough to cause a disaster. “There's been deaths recently on this road, so it would be scary,” she commented.
The school board meeting for February 14th was rescheduled, because it falls on a holiday. It will be moved to February 28th.
