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Voters: Room tax? We don't think so!
Soldier mom
reunited with son, if only for a short time
Yamhill County
slowing its rate of job losses
It's
not easy catching
the bus at NHS |
Despite a lack of parking, new bus stops and neighborhood
complaints, school officials hope things will smooth out soon |
By Schellene Clendenin, Newberg
Graphic reporter
E-mail Schellene at sclendenin@eaglenewspapers.com
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It’s annoying for everyone involved.
Students complain about a lack of available parking. Parents are upset that
their routines have been changed . School officials worry about the safety of students.
Bus drivers at First Student are having to reschedule entire routes. And residents in
neighborhoods surrounding Newberg High School are frustrated over the flood of cars into
their neighborhoods.
Since construction began at NHS, motor vehicles have become a huge issue, one
officials hope will straighten itself out soon.
School bus pick-up and drop-off sites have been relocated from the south
parking lot to the north and parents are now required to pick up their children in the
south parking lot in hopes of eliminating bottlenecks at the school.
“We’re trying to make sure parents stay out and stay on the south
side of school so buses can come in,” said Teresa Townsend, a dispatcher at First
Student, the company that provides bus service to students in district.
According to John Goad, juvenile crimes detective and truancy officer at the
school, some parents were upset over changes in pick-up and drop-off spots since it was
out of the norm for them. Goad said the changes will be better all around since parents no
longer have to maneuver around the buses, and it’s safer for the students.
First Student is rescheduling bus times for the entire district around
construction at NHS. Using the north side of the school as a bus stop is less desirable
for bus drivers due to speedbumps and — in the beginning — parents were getting
in the way.
“We’re going to be late to elementary schools from now on,”
Townsend said. “All schools have been made aware of that.”
First Student made the decision to drop elementary students off 10 to 15
minutes later in the afternoon, otherwise high school students would have had to have been
released early. First Student is hoping to return to its former schedule as quickly as
possible.
So far, no accidents have been reported, Townsend said, but the changes are
time-consuming with added traffic trickling through one entrance and exit.
NHS principal Bill Smethurst said the kids seem to be adapting to the changes
fairly well, at least those students who ride the bus to and from school. Parking issues
at and around the high school are more chaotic, however.
“We talked to students at the end of the (last) year and limited parking
to seniors first, and only then on the south side,” he said, “and we issued a
limited number of parking tickets to seniors.” The high school also identified with
maps areas that would be affected by construction and gave students notice of the changes.
To help alleviate parking pressure on the students and residents in the
neighborhood, the school plans to add parking to the west of the school’s baseball
field near the Church of Christ. The area will be graveled for additional parking, but
Smethurst concedes no one is sure how many spaces will be available.
Parking on the north and west near buildings six and seven will be reserved
for teachers.
Smethurst said he has heard no complaints about students parking in
residential areas. He has discussed with students where parking is legal and announced
that cars parking illegally will be ticketed.
Goad, on the other hand, has heard a few complaints.
“There have been a few complaints in neighborhoods,” he said. With
the influx of cars in neighborhoods near the school, parking in the streets has risen and
students were blocking mailboxes and driveways illegally, he said.
A quick check of Hawthorne Street near the high school found cars lining the
roads, many blocking mailboxes. Some sported tickets that fluttered in the cold morning
air.
The area is being patrolled by a motorcycle officer who cruised through the
neighborhood twice in less than 15 minutes. However, as long as cars are parked on public
streets there is little more the Newberg Police Department can do.
But that is little comfort to residents in the area.
Bryan Carlile, who lives in the 2300 block of Hawthorne Street, said the
neighborhood was given no warning about the overflow of cars coming into the area.
“It’s a real problem,” he said. “We don’t have
places to park.
Carlile said he and many of his neighbors drive their kids to school in
the morning and often have no place to park when they return.
The extra cars and their drivers have become a hazard, he maintained,
and many parents are having to keep a closer eye on children as students drive at
accelerated speeds through the area and use driveways to turn around.
And he and his neighbors are having to fight to get to their mailboxes and
find places near the curb to place their garbage.
For more information or to voice any concerns or complaints about bus schedules or
whereabouts, contact First Student at 530-538-8365. |
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From Nov. 8,
2003, Newberg Graphic
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