Fort Bend County, Texas (KTRK) – Angry, worried and confused, a group of parents in Fort Bend ISD said the school district is putting their children in harm’s way after their bus service was suddenly removed.
“(I’m in) complete shock,” said parent Charlie Chen. “I couldn’t imagine why a school bus wasn’t available given the amount of traffic on University Street. It’s like a motorway.”
Chen and a small group of parents met outside their department, Avalon in Riverstone, off University Street near Sugar Land.
University Street is the only pedestrian road they said takes their children to Fort Settlement Middle School.
Children are expected to walk along the main road, which is full of fast-moving cars.
“We have an accident every month. A big accident. Just yesterday (Saturday) there were four car wrecks on this road,” said parent Nupur Bali.
Children must cross two bridges with nothing separating the sidewalk from accelerating vehicles.
“You are literally walking next to what could be an 18-wheeler truck, (or) big pickups,” Chen said.
About 1.5 miles from the school, their neighborhood does not meet the two-mile radius of guaranteed bus service, but parents said hazardous walking conditions always provide their children a safe journey on a school bus.
“We’ve had a bus for the past seven years. What happened in Fort Bend ISD for them to implement this year?” Bali said.
Fort Bend ISD sent this statement:
Fort Bend ISD provides bus transportation to students who live within two miles or more of their designated school, as measured by the district routing system, or who live in an area designated as a hazardous route. There are dangerous roads where there is no safe path to walk And the Children must walk side by side or cross a highway or motorway, a crowded underpass or bridge, an uncontrolled major artery, an industrial or commercial area or other similar circumstances.
Over the past academic year, district staff evaluated all trails less than two miles from campus using an industry-standard score sheet. At that time, the district marked the route along University Street. Similar routes throughout the region are not eligible for bus service. A recommendation was made to the District Board of Trustees and the list of dangerous roads was approved in April 2022.
After listening to parents’ concerns last week, district staff conducted an additional review of the walking path, which included one of our staff managers riding a bike from the neighborhood to the school during check-in and class times. Our second review did not find the area eligible for transfer.
The safety of our students remains our top priority. We routinely share safety tips for our students who walk and bike to school and encourage parents to partner with us in promoting these tips for their children.
“They somehow figured this out is safe, but I challenge Fort Bend ISD to have their kids walk into this busy university and see how it feels,” Chen said.
“What happens if a student makes a small mistake and ends up on the road? Do we wait for disaster to happen?” Another father, Vikram Nath, said.
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