School Bus Alternate Access

Proposal Rejected

By Andrew Gorosko

Following discussion, Police Commission members, serving as the local traffic authority, have turned down a proposal that would allow school buses to use an alternate accessway to Reed Intermediate School in the morning to expedite students’ arrival at school.

At an October 2 commission meeting, Police Captain Joe Rios told commission members that school officials have expressed concerns that school buses traveling on eastbound Wasserman Way in the morning on school days tend to back up in line at a traffic signal while waiting to make left turns onto Trades Lane to reach the school.

The four-way traffic signal at the intersection of Wasserman Way and Trades Lane provides a limited amount of “protected turn” time for eastbound Wasserman Way traffic seeking to turn left onto northbound Trades Lane by displaying a “green-left arrow” for such traffic.

In a September 27 memo from First Selectman Pat Llodra to Police Chief Michael Kehoe, Mrs Llodra explained that School Business Manager Ronald Bienkowski had asked whether the emergency access road behind Reed School, also known as Old Farm Road, could be opened only to entering school bus traffic for a 25-minute period on school day mornings to expedite students’ arrival at school. That period would run from 7:45 to 8:10 am.

“I appreciate that you are willing to take this issue to the Police Commission for some discussion,” Mrs Llodra wrote.

Currently, a suspended chain blocks the vehicular access between Wasserman Way and Old Farm Road.

Police Commission member Joel Faxon observed that allowing eastbound school buses on Wasserman Way to make a left turn onto Old Farm Road would result in a traffic backup on eastbound Wasserman Way that would result in rear-end collisions.

Also, Police Commission members expressed concerns that drivers other than school bus drivers, especially parents driving children to school, would enter the school property through such an alternate access point.

Commission member Brian Budd said that opening up Old Farm Road for morning school bus access would open up the area to other potential traffic problems.

Capt Rios suggested that the state Department of Transportation (DOT) review the traffic signal phasing  at the Wasserman Way-Trades Lane intersection to address the school bus back-up problem there.

Commission members then unanimously voted to turn down the alternate access request for school buses, and ask the DOT to alter the timing of the existing traffic signal to address the school bus backup problem on Wasserman Way.