I understand what you are saying. I sometimes have the same thought. However, it is unfortunate that Westford does not have sidewalks in many neighborhoods. Is it possible on the routes you are looking at that the kids (mostly the younger ones) cannot walk to a common pick-up because of the lack of sidewalks. A road shoulder is not enough because come winter snow, there would be no place to walk. This is actually the issue with my street - my neighbor 3 houses down does not use our stop because there is no walkway to it from their place and traffic is too fast/dangerous to walk on the shoulder. Additionally, I have noticed street crossing is a factor as well. The system does not want kids crossing the street in order to get to the stop, rather the crossing should occur when the bus stops traffic to cross safely.

Each year I say the same thing. Sometimes it looks like they stop at every house but I believe Vicky is correct. It comes down to safety. When we were kids they didn't bother with that stuff. The town simply said here is your neighborhood bus stop and its up to you to get get there. Even if it was uphill through the snow!

In the student handbook, the criteria for determining bus stops is printed as follows:
1. Site lines of the traffic from both directions in approaching the bus stop.
2. Speed limit and traffic conditions at the location of the bus stop.
3. Hills or turns that impede traffic visibility of stop and proximity to the bus stop.
4. Ability of a school bus to navigate in an area
5. Width of a road.
6. Grade level (age) of students.
7. Ability of the school bus to safely pull out of a side street onto a main road.
8. Time constraints.
9. Number of students involved at a bus stop.
10. Any other unique conditions.

We had to have our stop added due to numbers 1-3. Otherwise we were walking on the road on a dangerous curve and having to cross the street. Once the bus company realized this, there was no question about adding our stop.

I agree that safety should always be the most important factor when making decisions for our kids. That said, Long Meadow Rd which is within the Old Homestead neighborhood has no sidewalks, and even Old Homstead Rd only has sidewalks on about one half of the road. First St has no sidewalk at the end of the street (by River St) where the bus stops, and Beacon and Maple streets have no sidewalks either...these are all group pickup spots too that I can recall off quick memory...so the sidewalk theory, though sensible, is not exact, right? I just think there should be a few more group pickup spots along all the bus routes versus frequent stopping. BTW, River St, where the 6 stops I wrote about happen, all have sidewalks infront of them! Haha so figure that out.

My other point was about the routes themselves.. while looking at the routes online, I noticed a bus would pass by the same area/street more than once for more than one pickup. Rough exampple: A bus for say Blanchard school, would stop at #44 Depot St in the beginning of a route, then stop again at #52 Depot St later in the route...I noticed this multiple times. That is like going to MB for groceries, then going home to unpack them, then going back to Walgreens for shaving cream...nobody does that!
The WA buses seem alot more effecient than the middle schools too by way, picking up 3x more kids per bus...

No offense taken Joseph. However, while your observations may be correct about some portions of town, I don't think it applies everywhere. I, for example, live on a street where there have been several accidents due to people flying around one of the curves too fast as well as people often exceeding the speed limit. Do I think that routes should be reexamined - absolutely. But I am also not willing to eliminate stops/combine stops if it is unsafe just to save a few dollars.

I appreciate Vickie's posting of the bus stop policies. Having 3 kids at three schools, I think Westford does a good job with the bus stops.

Regarding your River Street comment, there are no sidewalks in winter (ha ha!), when road safety is a big concern. Maybe we can do as Acton does, and get have a sidewalk plowing program for main roads, then we could cut down on then number of stops.

Here is our family's story:

When we moved to Westford, we came from a neighborhood where my kids walked to school ~ about a half-mile, on their own once they got to second grade. We had the same plan here; we are about that distance from Abbot.

Well, it was winter and except for the Teal's yard, no sidewalk access. My fourth-grader could not safely walk to Abbot and cross Depot in these conditions.

My first-grader's stop (for Nabnasset) was a few hundred yards up the hill~ no big deal, right? Except - our hill gets black ice, and there is no "escape" from the road if a car comes down the hill too quickly. It alleviated quite a lot of anxiety/hassle when they started picking her up at our house.

So, we are probably the "least efficient" in terms of our own personal resources: we have to buy 3 bus passes to a tune of $600, and yet we encourage our kids to walk to school as often as safety will permit.

I appreciate everyone's input on this matter. I posted this blog only partly as a serious topic. And more or less I think Westford does a good job with busing too.

Katie if you are saying there are no sidewalks in Winter, which I sort of agree with (bc people could do there 'part' and snowblow/shovel, but by no means is it an obligation), then what do all the kids who gather at Kylemore, Noth Hill, Nab, just to name a few, do in the winter? They STILL walk to the common group gathering spot. I just think that in a time where every dollar counts (personal and town budgets alike) more than ever, that even something as simple as our buses / routes could be looked into a little more. Each year, Westford grows (hello Granitteville woods), there will be more buses / routes needed which inevitably lead to higher operating costs. And when its time for a new contract with Dee, they'll point to the increased...wait for it...NUMBER OF STOPS AND BUSES needed so by 2015 when my 2yo is ready to take the bus, it will only cost I don't know, maybe $450 per kid? I know its not feasble for everyone (single parents mainly) but if a bus stop is so dangerous to get to, you (the parent) can do like my sister-in-law in Westford and walk/drive your kids to the bus stop. I would be embarassed if my kid was picked up at my driveway while there is a common gathering spot within a 1/4 mile..regardless of the road or weather.

On second thought Katie, not only is taking the bus when there is black ice or say just for the winter least efficient to you, but really its least efficient to everybody. I completely agree if you are worried about your children's safety, that paying the freight to have them picked up 'curbside' is appropriate. And it is, our children's safety comes 1st. But at the same time doesn't that logic (and the no sidewalks in winter logic) mean every kid could/should be picked up at their house in the winter? A bus is now driving down Katie S's road regardless if the kids are being picked up then too right? Heywood Rd isn't exactly Groton or Dunstable Rd...it really just comes down to convenience doesn't it? I don't think the few times a year it snows or it is icey its too much of a 'hassle' to walk up (with your kids if need be) to Depot St for a group pick up for the sake of trying to keep Westford a little more fiscally stable. Call me crazy but I try to keep our future in sight...

In addition to road conditions and visibility, I think they also take into consideration the length of time a child is on the bus (including load time). We live at the edge of our district and my kids have a 40-minute ride to and from school. This is long for elementary age kids.

I'd be willing to bet just about everyone posting here didn't get picked up at the end of their driveway to get on the bus. It's likely that everyone here had to walk to the end of the road or the nearest group pickup spot. It snowed back then and there was even ice, busy roads, and plenty of so-called dangers. Why should things be different now? This is just another example of the overprotection of American children. By not requiring your children to go to a group bus stop you strip them of many things. Picking kids up in their driveway shelters them from learning road safety. It allows them to be lazy, it's that little bit of extra exercise that kids need. Let them have their chocolate milk with school lunch but make them walk to the bus stop. You're also taking away a social element. When I was a kid, we made friends at the bus stop. It was a time to hang out with your neighbors for a few minutes and make some jokes, have a few laughs, talk about homework and tests. The kids standing in their driveway alone isn't gaining much social experience. I think that safety is the easy way out. To say that driveway pickup is necessary for safety reasons, in many but not all cases, seems like a scapegoat for parents who don't want to walk with their child to the bus stop but would rather peer out the kitchen window while getting some things done in the house. Slow down, enjoy life and help your kids grow, don't take the lazy way out.

So some reckon, Westford over-shelters our children by not allowing them to walk to a group stop. Sure as a kid, I walked to a group stop. But one thing that has not been addressed in this thread is drivers today. 20-30 years ago, I would have probably made my daughter walk up the blind curve with no sidewalk to a group stop, just as I went to a group stop in my neighborhood. But now we have distracted drivers with their cell phones and illegal texting or posting to websites on the roads. I also think more people exceed the speed limit today.

And to Katie, who accuses some of us being too lazy to walk a child to a stop. My stop is at the end of the driveway - we have a very long driveway, the end of which is not even visible from the house. It is approached by a blind curve in one direction. Until my daughter was in middle school, I did go down every day to wait at the stop with her. I witnessed many drivers blowing past the school bus even with the stop sign out. Often they were on their phone, not even paying attention and yes exceeding the speed limit. I have seen our bus driver yell at drivers (and rightfully so) that did not stop in time to allow a safe distance to cross the street. Call me over protective if you want. But I rather be overprotective that have any child injured. My child does know how to safely traverse the roadways. But I don't have enough faith in today's distracted and harried drivers to put her life in their hands.

Um, do people really think I posted that message from my phone? The comment was sarcastically said to point out how many needless stops the buses make in town...haha, I guess y'all missed that one.

And I have witnessed school buses speeding AND the buses have no seatbelts...or as I have heard in some the front half of the bus has seatbelts but the back does not...so?

There are just alot buses being used AND too many stops being made in Westford in my opinion. I just love how short sighted poeple are in Westford..its only a few dollars, its not very efficient, so oh well!?!? I am not suggesting you walk down Rt225 and get run over, but I am pretty sure the likes of a Wilson Farm Rd, Or the Nabnasset neighborhoods types could stand to tighten up their stops and routes thus saving the town and your fellow Westfordians some needed money versus going in the other direction. Some residents simply WANT the bus to stop at your house (or just want them to stop there when there is 'black ice'). Wanting and needing are 2 entirely differnet things. Westford NEEDS to start looking at ways to conserve money, yet more and more residents WANT to be the exception. As a town, Westford is spending beyond its means (once again). Next up, a new UNMANNED fire station! Go Grey Ghosts!

As the Business Manager for the Westford School Dept., Bill Olsen had no problem making my kid walk 3/4 mile down Powers Rd when the middle school bus she was riding on went right past her destination in order to service students in Maynard. I started looking into the incestuous relationship between Dee Bus Co and the Westford schools and decided to transport my kids myself. If any of you parents have bus issues and would like the SC to help you to iron them out, forget about it. They will wait you out until your kid gets older and the problem eventually goes away.

And there you have it folks, the town execs have ZERO interest in looking into your children's safety and tax dollars being wasted. Only in Westford!

When I went to school we walked to a bus stop, about .25 mile. Nowadays it seems like buses stop at every other house. I can understand lots of stops for little kids but non elementary kids can walk a little. I mean sheesh, a 12 year old can't walk 10 house lengths. When I was 13 (20 years ago) I started walking two miles to and from school, now two blocks is excessive.

Vicky, I don't think the majority of people have a problem with your particular situation, but there are plenty of very visible side roads with not a lot of traffic where one stop would be perfectly safe for bigger kids, instead there are 5-6 seemingly only to save the kids the walk. That is what people dislike, myself included. A little walk in the situations like I just mentioned is not going to kill them. In your situation it seems a house stop is entirely appropriate.

Alex shoots, he scores!