AURORA, Colo. — An Aurora parent is raising safety concerns after Aurora Public Schools eliminated several bus stops this school year.
Stacy Wiese contacted Denver7 about the issue.
"Not only are they forced to walk about a half mile – that requires them to cross two streets that feed off a major road (Tower Road). This is just unsafe and unrealistic for children this age," Wiese said in her email.
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Wiese, whose son attends Vassar Elementary in Aurora, said she now monitors her phone every afternoon while working in Denver, tracking an app that shows when her son is dropped off at his new bus stop.
"It takes him about 10 minutes, you know, to walk to get home," Wiese said.
She said the change came as a surprise.
"Come to find out, they had eliminated the bus stop that is literally around the corner from our house," Wiese said.
Their home is near Tower Road, a heavily traveled street.
"People fly through there all the time," Wiese said.
The added distance and traffic have left Wiese anxious during her son's daily commute home.
"It's horrible, and it takes away from my work, and it's just sorry, just scary as a parent to know that in that 10 minutes something could happen, and it's preventable, and they could fix this," Wiese said.
After hearing from Wiese, Denver7 reached out to Aurora Public Schools for answers. The district confirmed that some bus stops were consolidated at the start of the school year to improve efficiency as a result of a new districtwide bell schedule change. The district said letters were sent to parents notifying them of the broader changes, and that specific impacts to Vassar Elementary families were communicated via text between July 24 and the first day of school.
Wiese said she wants the district to restore the original stop, arguing it would add little time to the existing route.
"If they reinstated this bus stop that was there. It would add anywhere from two to five minutes to the current route because it's literally the bus goes that exact direction when they have to leave to get to their next stop," Wiese said.
With fall already underway, Wiese said the stakes will only grow as temperatures drop.
"In the winter – that's a long way for a young kid to walk," Wiese said.
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