Ann Arbor schools release bus stop information for 2011-12 school year
Ann Arbor Public Schools released the newest pick-up and drop-off points for students for busing service during the 2011-12 school year earlier this week.
The new bus stops are a reflection of the move to common bus stops for high school students, an enforcement of the district’s policy to not have bus stops within a half-mile of each other and eliminating after-school shuttles. All of those measures are expected to save the district $1 million during this school year.
To view a PDF file of all the new pick-up and drop-off points, along with times and bus numbers, click here.
The district this year will also begin enforcing its “walk zone” policy, which states that bus service is not provided to students who live within 1.5 miles of the school they attend. The district had the policy previously, but still had bus stops in areas that were in the walk zones.
The walk zone changes are as noted below:
For elementary school students:
- Students who live south of Eisenhower Parkway and east of Stone School Road in the Baylis area and Mill Creek neighborhood will now walk to Bryant Elementary School.
- Students living in the Henry/White Street neighborhoods will now walk to Burns Park Elementary School.
- Students who live in the Pennsylvania Avenue area will now walk to Dicken Elementary School
- All students will be required to walk to Eberwhite Elementary School, aside from those who need special education bus service
- Students living in the Foxfire neighborhood will now walk to Logan Elementary School
- Students living on King George Boulevard, north of Eisenhower including the Astor/Wisteria and Page area, will now walk to Pattengill Elementary School. Students living in the Stoneybrook neighborhood will walk to Bryant for a common bus stop to take them to Pattengill.
For middle school students:
- Students living in the Willowtree Apartments, Upland Green and Pointe Lane now walk to Clague Middle School
- Students living in the Allen Elementary School neighborhood, Sparrow Wood neighborhood and Town & County Apartments will now walk to Scarlett Middle School
- Students living in the South Maple neighborhood will now walk to Slauson Middle School
- Students living on the north side of King George Boulevard, Page Street and Pine Valley neighborhoods including Astor and Wisteria will now walk to Tappan Middle School
- Students living in the Angell Elementary School and the King Elementary School attendance areas will now walk to Huron High School
- Students who live in the South Maple neighborhood and between Scio Church Road and Liberty Road, as well as Signature Way and Waymarket will now walk to Pioneer High School
- Students living on the east side of Wagner Road, including the Craig Road and Parkridge area, will now walk to Skyline High School
Kyle Feldscher covers K-12 education for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at kylefeldscher@annarbor.com or you can follow him on Twitter.
Comments
Robin
Mon, Aug 22, 2011 : 4:21 a.m.
@ Barb's Mom any shuttles done that go to private schools are paid for by the private school.
CC
Sun, Aug 21, 2011 : 11:28 p.m.
The AAPS does mention that these new walking areas are newly deemed "safe walking zones". But for one, I haven't even seen one change to improve safeness in my area for the past ten years I've been living here. What makes them think that it's safe now when it wasn't before? They will have a liability if any incident occurs. You cannot persuade them to change by attempting to invoke their sympathy; only by going for where it hurts: Liability and Money (count day)
Beth
Sat, Aug 20, 2011 : 3:16 p.m.
I have to wonder how much money is saved by cutting bus stops - if the bus goes right by a former stop, how much more would AAPS have to spend if the bus just added a stop there? Our neighborhood, like many others, is down to 1 HS, 1 MS, and 2 elementary stops. If there was 1 more elementary stop, they could be equitably distributed throughout the neighborhood - as it is, they're both in the same half, and the other half of the neighborhood (with the most young children!) has an unfairly long hike. I really would like to learn more about how AAPS decided where bus stops should be - what kind of data do they look at?
Beth
Sat, Aug 20, 2011 : 7:28 p.m.
Interesting. It seems like no one actually looked at what the routes are really like - for both walkers and riders - or where the children actually are distributed in neighborhood. We still have a stop reasonably near our house, but many others are not so fortunate. Kyle, is there any way you can find out any more information from AAPS about how these new bus stops were decided upon?
jns131
Sat, Aug 20, 2011 : 6:54 p.m.
The board made the changes and voted on it. It was transportation that was told by the board to hand over their route schedule and see what can be cut. Not added. The supervisors worked with the board on what can be changed. Once they gave input the board then said lets go with it with whatever new changes they have now made. They knew what they were doing and did it without blinking and batting an I. This is how the drivers and monitors lost their jobs last year.
A2Girl63
Sat, Aug 20, 2011 : 4:40 p.m.
I asked that question and they refused to give that data. All transportation will say is that the Board made the changes.
Jeff Gaynor
Sat, Aug 20, 2011 : 3:09 p.m.
Several Ann Arbor schools have Safe Routes To School (SR2S) programs that address safety issues and provide education for students walking or biking to school. An approved grant for Thurston School is described in this annarbor.com article . SR2S committees can be started by parents or staff at your school and assistance is available. More at
KJMClark
Sat, Aug 20, 2011 : 6:27 p.m.
That's funny, they always work for me. You didn't use html tags to make the url a link, did you? That will bomb. It has to just be text. Let's try this one: <a href="http://news.a2schools.org/?p=3886" rel='nofollow'>http://news.a2schools.org/?p=3886</a>
Jeff Gaynor
Sat, Aug 20, 2011 : 3:11 p.m.
I guess URL's are excluded from comments. A google search will easily find the two websites referred to.
KJMClark
Sat, Aug 20, 2011 : 1:59 p.m.
Just because they call it a "walk zone", that doesn't mean your kids can't bike instead. 1.5 miles at a regular pace is going to take a half hour walking. Biking that same distance takes about 8 minutes at a pretty reasonable 12mph, or about 9 minutes at 10mph, which is about as fast as anyone should go on a sidewalk. A competent teen cyclist biking on the road could do that mile and a half in about 6 minutes. But that would be much more palatable if the local police would enforce the safe passing distance law. The state Supreme Court has already ruled that trucks need to pass at more than four feet, unless the truck is doing 25mph or less. Many other states have now written a 3' minimum distance for all motorists passing cyclists. And we should enforce our ordinance (same as in most other Michigan cities, villages, and townships), that driving and parking in bike lanes is illegal. And yes, it's illegal to use a bike lane to pass on the right when someone is turning. While we're at it, this fall would be a great time for the AAPD to do crosswalk enforcement operations. Perhaps on routes that kids will need to use getting to school?
KJMClark
Wed, Aug 31, 2011 : 2:08 a.m.
MMM - I suggest a bike trailer. I routinely carry 100# loads and odd-shaped objects (sometimes bales of straw and potted Christmas trees) in mine. Although unless it's a tenor or bari-sax, he can probably just strap it onto a rear rack. People in the rest of the world manage that kind of load all the time. It's funny that we Americans can't seem to figure it out.
MMM
Fri, Aug 26, 2011 : 4:30 a.m.
I'm not sure how my son will bike the 1 mile to his bus stop carrying a 20 pound backpack and a saxophone.
KJMClark
Sat, Aug 20, 2011 : 6:37 p.m.
And Don, one more thing - bike lights work really well and are pretty cheap. And yes, Barb's mom, they should pull over cyclists who don't have a legally required headlight when biking in the dark or in bad weather. Just as they should pull over motorists not using their headlights in those conditions. All of our bikes have headlights.
KJMClark
Sat, Aug 20, 2011 : 6:24 p.m.
Barb, I know you were being sarcastic, but I completely agree with you, since I stop for all red lights and stop signs, and signal my intentions while biking. (Seriously - I have a tandem, you should come with me sometime and see for yourself.) Do you really want to play that game, since we would then ticket all the motorists going even 1mph over the posted speed limit? Don, your situation is not the situation in most of the district. I completely agree with you in your situation. The roads around me are mostly 25 and 30mph. The parents near Angel are on similar lower-speed roads. In your case, I wouldn't consider having my kids bike or walk to school either, but I wouldn't have chosen to live somewhere like that.
DonBee
Sat, Aug 20, 2011 : 2:24 p.m.
Biking for children on busy streets in the dark KJMCLARK? Would you have your 14 year old do that on a road where the speed limit is 55 and the trucks routinely do 70?
Barb's Mom
Sat, Aug 20, 2011 : 2:10 p.m.
And while they are at it, the AAPD can start ticketing all the bike riders who don't stop for stop signs and red lights, or signal their intentions so motorist know what the bike rider is going to do.
A2Hell
Sat, Aug 20, 2011 : 1:25 p.m.
This is ridiculous, kids walking up to 1.5 miles on and crossing major roads (some with no sidewalks). Who is making these decisions. I walked when I was in school, in a subdivision, not on major roads without sidewalks. Lawsuit waiting to happen. Solution: Get rid of some administrators and put more buses on the road. You are looking in the wrong place for cost savings.
jns131
Sat, Aug 20, 2011 : 6:55 p.m.
Your answer will continue to be rehearsed until they close transportation altogether. The board has spoken.
A2Girl63
Sat, Aug 20, 2011 : 4:39 p.m.
I couldn't agree more. I sent a letter of concern got a rehearsed answer never once addressing the issue. Frankly, AAPS could care less. Walking to a bus is fine, if it is SAFE, sidewalks, cross walks, proper lighting. It is a lawsuit waiting to happen.
Barb's Mom
Sat, Aug 20, 2011 : 1:13 p.m.
Why does AAPS have all the shuttles to the Private schools? Do they pay for this? If you send your child to a private school, you should have to get them there yourself. Same thing if you choose to have your child go to a different school than the one for your neighborhood. Stop all the shuttleing back and forth to schools of choice and private schools and how much money would that save?
CC
Fri, Aug 26, 2011 : 7:36 p.m.
The private schools pay for those buses.
KJMClark
Sat, Aug 20, 2011 : 6:34 p.m.
Yes, I'd like to know the answer to this too. The schools should be covering basic transportation to and from school. No transportation for shuttles between schools, no transportation for sports, etc. Extra transportation like that should be paid for after the basics. Our PTO covered the cost of field trip transportation - all specials should have boosters to raise funds for that extra transportation if the district can't pay for it.
Dr. I. Emsayin
Sat, Aug 20, 2011 : 12:05 p.m.
Buses help children get to school. Having teachers at the school to teach is another important element. Having a counselor call home in the summer to say there are not enough classes for a child to take the required classes is priceless. Are parents to pay out of pocket for online classes because there is no space in school or in the online program the school system promotes? Might as well suck up private school tuition.
hocksk8
Sat, Aug 20, 2011 : 1:13 a.m.
ya so when someone gets hurt they will pay more than 1 million...so where is the saving? i agree with the speeding car issue people speed thru our burwood/liberty area to avoid traffic and now 5yr old has to walk to eberwhite...oh and there has been 3 buisness robbed in the last few weeks and 2 were with in 4 houses from us but we are a "safe walking zone" RIGHT!!!!!
jns131
Sat, Aug 20, 2011 : 6:49 p.m.
Uh huh. You really think the police have the time to do a sting operation with all the budget cutting going on? They are chasing a phantom rouge rapist in downtown Ann Arbor and all the while chasing bad guys, you think they are going to baby sit children across the street? What is in your pipe? Think again. Police do not have time to do this.
KJMClark
Sat, Aug 20, 2011 : 2 p.m.
Parents, lobby for the police to do crosswalk sting operations.
jns131
Sat, Aug 20, 2011 : 2:22 a.m.
With Eberwhite, parents really need to set up stations near the school and areas they feel children need the most attending to. Especially crossing Liberty. Liberty is a speedway. People do not stop for anything. Parents? Time to start your own volunteer squad.
genericreg
Fri, Aug 19, 2011 : 11:30 p.m.
ban all socialist program. eliminate bus for all student or charge all student full price for service.
jns131
Sat, Aug 20, 2011 : 2:25 a.m.
Massachusetts has been doing that for years. I believe the first student is $500 and then they give discounts to multiple households. State Of Michigan states that the only ones who get busing is the special needs. If you get a bus ride? You are one of the lucky ones. Everyone else is on their own.
Georgetown Dad
Fri, Aug 19, 2011 : 9:21 p.m.
Nice. Really nice. Cheapskates. What will they cut next?
AMOC
Thu, Sep 8, 2011 : 12:40 a.m.
Whatever the school board thinks will make the parents most angry or cause the most community inconvenience, so that when they ask for the enhancement millage again, there will be more people lobbying for it.
John B.
Sat, Aug 20, 2011 : 5:19 a.m.
"Nice. Really nice. Cheapskates. What will they cut next?" That will depend on how much more money Snyder takes away from schools to give to rich business owners (like himself).
jns131
Sat, Aug 20, 2011 : 2:19 a.m.
Custodians. The custodians are next. They took a huge hit last year and narrowly adverted privatization. Balais needs to cut its administration staff by 1/4 to half. They don't to keep sending people there where they don't know where to put them next. They did to the transportation director Brad Mellor. They gave him his own title too.
Haran Rashes
Fri, Aug 19, 2011 : 8:41 p.m.
I am all for children getting some exercise. However, I am concerned about safety and how children will cross some of the busier and more dangerous streets. For example, children who now need to walk from Chapel Hill to Clague must cross Nixon. Unless the city is willing to place a traffic light on Nixon at either Burbank or Gettysburg, there will eventually be a fatality. Cars come flying down Nixon and going southbound they come around a blind curve right at Gettysburg. Will AAPS start to put pressure on the city to make sure these crossings are safe, or will they wait for a fatality to do so?
Jeff Gaynor
Sat, Aug 20, 2011 : 2:30 p.m.
The Clague (and Thurston) Safe Routes To School committee, working with city engineers, addressed this issue. Unfortunately, the city doesn't have the money this year to get the matching grant to implement it.
Basic Bob
Fri, Aug 19, 2011 : 8:35 p.m.
With all these cuts, they still have full service shuttles to Community. Go figure.
A2Girl63
Fri, Aug 19, 2011 : 8:09 p.m.
Seems to me no safety checks were done. Just plot a stop for a pick up/drop off. What about areas with no sidewalks, no crosswalks and no street lighting? The kids have to walk in the streets when there is snow. When you call transportation they say, "you can drive your kid to the bus stop". What will AAPS say if there is an accident on their new routes? I am thankful for having a bus but disgusted for the lack of safety for our children.
jns131
Sat, Aug 20, 2011 : 2:28 a.m.
Plymouth Canton has this problem as well. Most of them have to walk thru a golfing area just to get to school. I am beginning to wonder if driving children to school is going to become common place.
jns131
Fri, Aug 19, 2011 : 7:44 p.m.
I hate to say it folks, I told you so. This pretty much eliminates nearly 1/3 of the buses and drivers needed to get the children to and from school. Wow. Expect late children and/or lost children. Parents? Need to walk a route with the children so you know where they are and how they are getting to school. I would also make sure they have a cell phone to call if they need help. Wow. Glad mine takes the AATA. At least I know where ours is and getting there on time and staying warm. Good luck parents this is going to be a fun year.
s
Fri, Aug 19, 2011 : 7:24 p.m.
We need to get the school board a map so they can see that Ann Arbor has a RIVER running between the Angell School kids and Huron High School. Though a crow might be able to fly to Huron High School within the 1.5 mile "walk zone", the children will need to be driven over 3.5 miles to get to school using the closest available bridge.
Richard Carter
Sat, Aug 20, 2011 : 1:59 p.m.
You could try maps.google.com for some good evidence... it can be set to give directions for driving, taking public transportation, bicycling, or walking. Door-to-door Angell Elementary to Huron High school shows for walking: 2.3 miles. driving: 3.0 miles. So I think some parents could get together with their addresses and figure out what really IS a 1.5 mile as the kid walks rather than as the crow flies.
KJMClark
Sat, Aug 20, 2011 : 12:47 p.m.
Are you counting the pedestrian crossing from Geddes, through Gallup park, to Huron? It's *much* shorter than the shortest route by car, since motorists aren't allowed to cut through Gallup park. I used the USATF route finder to plot from Angell school itself to Huron (the building itself) - 2 miles. So there's a good part of the Angell school area that could get to Huron within 1.5 miles, by using that shortcut. A lot of people are going to suddenly be more interested in pedestrian routes and safety.
jns131
Fri, Aug 19, 2011 : 8:07 p.m.
LOL At $40 a pop? Ann Arbor will make its money in parking. There is a way around it but still, after seeing that schedule? They won't need more then 90 drivers. I am wondering about the preschool though. Did they eliminate that run too? I can see that one happening.
Charlie Brown's Ghost
Fri, Aug 19, 2011 : 7:46 p.m.
They'll be OK. They can afford to buy cars for their kids.
jns131
Fri, Aug 19, 2011 : 7:39 p.m.
Surprise!! We knew this was coming.
Dave
Fri, Aug 19, 2011 : 7:24 p.m.
I'm all for walking to school for kids but walking from King George to Tappan is a hike. Wouldn't be such a big deal to me but we have at least two or three predators running around the city and now there will be more bait than ever.
Catherine Lomax Martin
Fri, Aug 19, 2011 : 11:24 p.m.
On the other hand, I only had to walk 2 blocks to Stone School for Elementary. I can't imagine making a kindergartner walk 1.5 miles.
Catherine Lomax Martin
Fri, Aug 19, 2011 : 11:20 p.m.
I had to walk from Pine Valley to Tappan when I went there in the 80s. I rode my bike, or my parents formed a car-pool with some other families in the winter time.
jns131
Fri, Aug 19, 2011 : 7:38 p.m.
It is a hike. Mine missed the bus while I was at work. Took her about half hour to get to Tappan. 20 to Pattengill. This is going to be some walking these children are going to be doing. For the record? There is a AATA that goes right by Tappan on Stadium. $29 a month bus card. Ours did it for the last year and will to Pioneer.
Charlie Brown's Ghost
Fri, Aug 19, 2011 : 7:02 p.m.
So, elementary students will be crossing Packard and West Liberty. And some middle and high school students are going to be developing some nice leg muscles - South Maple to Pioneer, and King George Blvd to Tappan. Get those MP3 players loaded-up, kids.
63Townie
Fri, Aug 19, 2011 : 6:45 p.m.
Hope there will be no "egregious idling" going on.
KJMClark
Sat, Aug 20, 2011 : 12:49 p.m.
Doesn't look like it. They'll only have time to stop, pick up the kids, and take off again. But I bet you thought you were making a smart joke, huh?