West Camp bus stop change topic of meeting

SAUGERTIES, N.Y. » School district trustees have scheduled an Oct. 17 meeting to discuss whether several students on U.S. Route 9W in West Camp may use a bus stop closer to their home rather than walk past it to a stop that is a tenth of a mile away.

The session is set for 6 p.m. in the high school library, 310 Washington Ave. Extension, Saugerties

Parent Sean Rafferty made the request at a Board of Education meeting Tuesday, saying the best location would actually be his driveway.

“The bus stop that I’m asking for (had) been a bus stop for many years, many generations actually, and

had been taken away because there wasn’t kids living in my house anymore,” he said.

District officials said a recent request to resume use of the former stop was turned down after the district concluded there would not be enough sight distance from a bend in the highway.

However, Rafferty contends measurements used for the sight distance were done from the shoulder of the road instead of in the lane where drivers can see further. He provided photographs that showed drivers can see the entire 351-foot distance from the bend to the stop instead of the 70 feet reported in the study.

Superintendent Seth Turner contended the issue should not be discussed in public, but did read a section of the report that explained why the two nearer stops could not be used.

“Having a child cross at this location is extremely dangerous and is strongly recommended to be avoided,” he said. “That comes from the Pupil Transportation Safety Institute, the authors of the New York state laws and regulations for bus drivers.”

After 22 minutes of public board discussion, Turner succeeded in getting trustees to take the discussion behind closed doors.

Rafferty calls absurd the district claim that students having to cross the road to the stop is a reason to deny use of the closer location.

“We have to cross the road twice to access our current bus stop,” he said. “In that process, we’re passing two bus stops . ... I understand that they say we can’t get a stop, (but) why would you walk past them? It blows my mind that there’s a lack of common sense here.”