by Susan Dickson
Staff Writer
The Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools Board of Education is expected to approve a plan tonight (Thursday) that will create a walk zone around Chapel Hill High School and eliminate bus stops for 66 students.
A sidewalk network on Homestead, High School and Seawell School roads was completed in December, allowing students to safely walk to Chapel Hill High. District officials have said most students already use the sidewalk, drive to school or are dropped off at school by their parents, so very few students use the bus stops in the potential walk-zone area.
According to Steve Scroggs, assistant superintendent for support services, creating a walk zone around the high school would eliminate the two bus stops that serve Camden, Winmore, Claremont and Rogers Road past Sylvan Way. However, the financial benefit of creating the walk zone is minor, he said
“The savings are absolutely minimal,†Scroggs said. “The real objective here is that we’re stopping buses that we don’t need to stop because nobody’s riding them.â€
The initial walk-zone plan included Homestead Village, but parents expressed concern regarding safety at the intersection of Seawell School Road and High School Road.
Scroggs said bus service will continue to Homestead Village until improvements – such as a stop sign, stop light or crossing guard – have been made to the intersection.
However, he added, almost no students ride the bus from the Homestead Village bus stop.
District officials have informed families potentially affected by the plan of the proposed changes, which would go into effect during the 2008-09 school year.