K-1 grades lose most bus service
Traffic tangles touted, tailpipe trouble too
Parents paying privately for pickup

Nicole Gonzalez
for The Mirror

A half million dollars worth of cuts to Highland Park’s school budgets will no doubt have a substantial impact on students and school staff in the upcoming school year. But one particular area of this year’s cuts has experts predicting direct effects to all residents.

At the root of the concern -- and the subject of a series of meetings between parents, school officials, police, and urban planning experts -- is the elimination of courtesy busing service to Irving Primary School. “Courtesy busing” has previously been offered to approximately 100 Irving School students each year. These students reside in areas where bus transportation is not mandated, but far enough away to have been deemed a safety concern.

The influx of cars to Irving School that are expected as a result of these cuts has led to an array of fears, spanning from pedestrian safety to environmental concerns.

This is not the first time that courtesy busing has been on the budget chopping block. The proposed elimination of the service last year prompted an official response to borough council, from the Pedestrian Safety Task Force: “The PSTF recommends that the Mayor and Council consider the implications of the loss of this busing for Highland Park’s sustainable future in terms of safety, traffic, and environmental concerns. The loss of this busing will increase traffic in Highland Park and exacerbate safety issues for the children during drop-off and pick-up times at Irving School.”

Baby you’re out of time

While the PSTF’s involvement last year may have influenced the decision to preserve courtesy busing service, their continued research could not stave off the cuts this year. Yet their concerns continue to reverberate with parents. “Irving School serves our youngest, smallest students and in one of the most congested, gridlocked areas of town as cars converge from both Woodbridge Avenue and Route 27 at an already high-traffic time of day,” one parent observed at a PTO meeting held on the subject on May 28th. The influx of parents that will now be driving their children to school will further aggravate this traffic.

According to Hughes, representing the PSTF at the meeting held at the elementary school, “with 240 cars dropping-off at 1 minute apiece and [room] for 5 cars to stop at a time – assuming there is enough staff to assist – morning drop-off will take at least 48 minutes.” In other words, he says, there is no way to get everyone to school on time.

But for the PSTF the added bustle of these rushed, running-late drivers represents a larger concern. “Most parents are concerned about how to avoid a traffic jam. Our concern is not to improve the traffic jam, but to improve pedestrian and bike safety,” Hughes said. “We’ve all seen cars stop at the intersections in town right in the middle of the crosswalk. For children, it’s a particularly dangerous situation. They’re too small, too short to be seen and if they have to go out or behind a car blocking a crosswalk, it’s unsafe.”

Further, this increased traffic represents an environmental blight to such a green-minded town. Robert Scott, a member of the PTO, said at the May 28th meeting, “The loss of courtesy busing is really unfortunate. I think part of being a ‘Green Community’ would be a solution to bus kids to Irving. The courtesy busing is really not just a benefit to Irving parents and children, but to the whole community.”

Engineering some solutions

Suggestions were put forth at the meeting, including one from the PSTF. After comprehensive research, interviews, and observations, the PSTF proposed a system of designated “People-Friendly Streets” designed to encourage people to walk or bike through town. A final report dated January 2007 explains, “The plan would block off through-traffic by vehicles along designated corridors, while continuing to allow vehicles access to all parts of Highland Park . . . .At one end of each block a set of flexible, reflective posts would serve as a barrier to motor vehicles other than emergency vehicles. Bicycles and pedestrians could pass between the posts, but for other vehicles each block would effectively be a dead end.”

Reaction from parents at the PTO meeting to this plan ranged from skepticism to awe. While some referred to it as “revolutionary”, others doubted residents would be willing to embrace the changes required of them. “While we wish we could walk, this isn’t always an option with other smaller kids at home, especially in the winter,” says Scott. “I don’t think it is a solution for next year. We need to plan to get kids to Irving safely as soon as possible so there is time for everyone to find out about it,” he adds.

Fee for service considered

More immediate solutions are under consideration.  The Irving School Transportation Study Group, a volunteer team of Irving parents and staff, has investigated the cost of a parent-paid bus service and proposed the possibility of morning-only bus service at a cost of about $2.50 per day.  (The option of morning and afternoon bus service, at around $4.50 per child, was not popular enough to pursue.)  A survey sent home through student’s folders recorded confirmed interest by 34 students, a few riders short of the plan’s minimum capacity of 42 riders. 

Other options expected to be implemented include a more refined drop-off system aided by the Highland Park Police Department, as well as carpooling arrangements for neighbors in a common area. Hughes also reminds parents of the availability of NJ Transit bus service, lines 810 and 814, along Raritan Ave. past the school. “A parent could accompany the children and walk back,” he says. “Highland Park is as pleasant as it is because people choose to walk or utilize public transportation.”

Following the crunch of the busing service, the march of successive yearly budget cuts has parents anxious about which crucial services will be next to go. Robert Scott, the PTO member, says, “We need to be looking ahead two or three years. What is the next budget cut and how do we deal with that.”

The Transportation Group is extending the fee-for-service busing program to second graders attending Bartle School as well as Irving Primary students.  Anyone interested in participating is urged to contact volunteer coordinator Jill Levey at 732-828-8055.  Registration forms are also available for pick-up at the main office in Irving School.