Should School class times be changed to help traffic flow

[roadman65]

I noticed that in Florida we have many parents picking up their kids now rather than them walking or biking.  I do not know if it has to do with safety more now being the sex offenders registry keeps on growing, or if its an issue with busing as some school districts have a two mile distance minimum for bus service to the kids, or something else.  Nonetheless, the mothers coming to school does clog area roadways and usually right when rush hour starts occurring.  To make matters worse, in Orange County there is no consistency as the first school bus out on the road is before 6 AM and the last one is out after 5 PM.  Therefore each different schools have different start times which results naturally in different end times, thus spreading out the school hours across the morning and afternoons.

Should the times be made more standard? Do you think that they sometimes do interfere with normal driving schedules?  Most of all do you think that no school buses should be out on the road during peak times of regular traffic?

[Brandon]

I noticed that in Florida we have many parents picking up their kids now rather than them walking or biking.

Helicopter parenting.  These twits think that something bad might happen to little Johnny or little Suzie ont he way to/from school, so they freak out and drive them everywhere.

Somehow, I made it through the much more dangerous 1980s bicycling 1-1/2 miles each way to/from junior high school with no parent watching over me 100% of the time.

[Pete from Boston]

I noticed that in Florida we have many parents picking up their kids now rather than them walking or biking.

Helicopter parenting.  These twits think that something bad might happen to little Johnny or little Suzie ont he way to/from school, so they freak out and drive them everywhere.

Somehow, I made it through the much more dangerous 1980s bicycling 1-1/2 miles each way to/from junior high school with no parent watching over me 100% of the time.

Kids and parents also lead much more scheduled, organized lives than you did in the 1980s.  There are more dual-income families now, which means more kids that get shuttled off to some other place or activity until parents get home, which in this part of the country is after dark for a large part of the school year.

I agree that there is a culture of protectionisn among many parents these days, but it's become a very popular easy answer for too many wrongs.

There's an idea about, for example, that parents don't let kids traipse recreationally about the neighborhoods anymore for fear the child might be snatched.  The parents I know say kids consider it a burden and a chore to be pulled away from their screen time despite the parents' best efforts to get them out. 

[AlexandriaVA]

A parent in Montgomery County, Maryland got cited by the child protective services for the crime of letting her children walk to a park together. Some nosy neighbor phoned them in.

[Pete from Boston]

A parent in Montgomery County, Maryland got cited by the child protective services for the crime of letting her children walk to a park together. Some nosy neighbor phoned them in.

And what are we to conclude from the actions of this paranoid caller?

[noelbotevera]

A parent in Montgomery County, Maryland got cited by the child protective services for the crime of letting her children walk to a park together. Some nosy neighbor phoned them in.

And what are we to conclude from the actions of this paranoid caller?

A dumb 4th grader?

[UCFKnights]

I noticed that in Florida we have many parents picking up their kids now rather than them walking or biking.  I do not know if it has to do with safety more now being the sex offenders registry keeps on growing, or if its an issue with busing as some school districts have a two mile distance minimum for bus service to the kids, or something else.  Nonetheless, the mothers coming to school does clog area roadways and usually right when rush hour starts occurring.  To make matters worse, in Orange County there is no consistency as the first school bus out on the road is before 6 AM and the last one is out after 5 PM.  Therefore each different schools have different start times which results naturally in different end times, thus spreading out the school hours across the morning and afternoons.

Should the times be made more standard? Do you think that they sometimes do interfere with normal driving schedules?  Most of all do you think that no school buses should be out on the road during peak times of regular traffic?

It is a bit of the need to share buses as well... they need the same bus picking up often 3 sets of kids a day. I'd personally like to see bus routes changed to have them get all stops off of major roads and get them turning into communities so not so many vehicles get stuck behind them.

[DaBigE]

I noticed that in Florida we have many parents picking up their kids now rather than them walking or biking.

Helicopter parenting.  These twits think that something bad might happen to little Johnny or little Suzie ont he way to/from school, so they freak out and drive them everywhere.

Somehow, I made it through the much more dangerous 1980s bicycling 1-1/2 miles each way to/from junior high school with no parent watching over me 100% of the time.

Kids are also much lazier these days. I recall my high school's population growing during my time there, but the size of the parking lot(s) seemed to have to grow even faster.

[jeffandnicole]

I noticed that in Florida we have many parents picking up their kids now rather than them walking or biking.  I do not know if it has to do with safety more now being the sex offenders registry keeps on growing, or if its an issue with busing as some school districts have a two mile distance minimum for bus service to the kids, or something else.  Nonetheless, the mothers coming to school does clog area roadways and usually right when rush hour starts occurring.  To make matters worse, in Orange County there is no consistency as the first school bus out on the road is before 6 AM and the last one is out after 5 PM.  Therefore each different schools have different start times which results naturally in different end times, thus spreading out the school hours across the morning and afternoons.

Should the times be made more standard? Do you think that they sometimes do interfere with normal driving schedules?  Most of all do you think that no school buses should be out on the road during peak times of regular traffic?

If a school day is 7 hours long, find a period where, for an hour before school and an hour after school you can have kids going to/from school which doesn't also bump into a rush hour.  It would have to be so far removed from the normal work day (either 6am - 1pm, or 12noon to 7pm, that it would make it incredible inconvenient for both working parents and the kids.

Also, you would not want consistent hours across the board.  Just like businesses where not everyone works 9 - 5, every school starting at the same time would put a lot more traffic on the road at one time, rather than spreading it out.  And, if someone has at least 2 children in 2 schools, they would need to catch 2 school buses at about the same time, meaning there'll be MORE buses stopping on the roads during the same time period.  Or, parents will have to drop one off at one school, then another off at another school (and, of course, there could be a 3rd child at a different school).

[The Nature Boy]

In some areas though, the issue of "walking or taking the bus" isn't quite black and white. I lived 5 miles from my elementary and middle school so biking was far out of the question. My mom took me school in the morning because in order to catch the bus, I'd have to be up at around 6 am. I did take the bus home.

Of course, I grew up in the middle of nowhere so traffic was never an issue.

[ET21]

I'd got dropped off a block away so my dad wouldn't have to deal with stupid parents and a crowded parking lot for both elementary and high school, then I walked home afterwards. Usually took me about 15 minutes for elementary and 40 mins for high school.

[GaryV]

I think schools should be scheduled to start and end without causing conflicts to funeral processions.

[vdeane]

Kids used to do a lot of things on their own that would be considered unthinkable now.

[1995hoo]

Kids used to do a lot of things on their own that would be considered unthinkable now.

Heh. I wonder how much shit would hit the fan if kids today tried to play some of the games we used to play, the most notable (in terms of teachers today likely going ballistic) being Smear the Queer.

[jwolfer]

Kids used to do a lot of things on their own that would be considered unthinkable now.

Heh. I wonder how much shit would hit the fan if kids today tried to play some of the games we used to play, the most notable (in terms of teachers today likely going ballistic) being Smear the Queer.

That would cause trouble on many levels.. The sensitivity police would be there in an instant

[vdeane]

My Dad used to take his bike out a lot when he was little and ride down the gully to Irondequoit Bay (off road).  Grandma would have had a heart attack had she known where he was going.

[kkt]

School class times should reflect when kids learn best:  early start/finish for elementary, later start/finish for high school.  Unfortunately, in Seattle school buses make three runs morning and three runs afternoon, so the middle one is at a reasonable hour (start 8:30 AM) but the first one is too early (start as early as 7:30) and the last one is too late (start as late as 10:00).  Also, some high schoolers have after school jobs or take their sports very seriously and would resent shorter afternoons, so the school district has high schoolers start first, ignoring all research about teen sleep patterns.

[AlexandriaVA]

Kids used to do a lot of things on their own that would be considered unthinkable now.

Heh. I wonder how much shit would hit the fan if kids today tried to play some of the games we used to play, the most notable (in terms of teachers today likely going ballistic) being Smear the Queer.

We played that game under that name as recently as the late 90s/early 00s in FCPS schools, for what it's worth.

[jeffandnicole]

My junior high and high school bus stop was about 1/2 mile from my house.  Walked out of my neighborhood and down the left shoulder of this road ( https://goo.gl/maps/qqGarbNUxnu ) for a little over 1/10th of a mile, to beyond that second telephone pole.  See that shoulder, maybe about 3' wide?  Yeah, that didn't exist when I was going to school.  The lanes were marked wider, and the shoulder was only a foot or so wide at the time.  When I got to my bus stop, which was on the other side of the road, I crossed the road to the side street where we all stood (there was no room on the side where I walked because of trees or whatever).  Then the bus would come, and we would re-cross the road again.

Today, anyone doing that would be crazy.  Yet, I, my parents, or anyone else never gave it a second thought back in the 80's and early 90's. 

[1995hoo]

Kids used to do a lot of things on their own that would be considered unthinkable now.

Heh. I wonder how much shit would hit the fan if kids today tried to play some of the games we used to play, the most notable (in terms of teachers today likely going ballistic) being Smear the Queer.

We played that game under that name as recently as the late 90s/early 00s in FCPS schools, for what it's worth.

When I was young enough to play the game, the notion of "queer" referring to homosexuals never occurred to me (I'm not sure I would have known what homosexuals were when I was that young anyway). Evidently that view wasn't universal: My brother, who is two years younger than I am, said his classmates didn't say "Smear the Queer" and instead called it "Snag the Fag." This was all back in the early 1980s.

[hm insulators]

[/quote]I don't see the point in modifying school schedules for traffic relief so much as closing the campus to cars so parents can't drive their kids to school.  Sorry, snowflake, learn to bike or take the bus.
[/quote]

I don't see that happening any time soon with a kidnapper/child molester behind every bush, tree and telephone pole.

[hm insulators]

I think schools should be scheduled to start and end without causing conflicts to funeral processions.

[noelbotevera]

I think schools should be scheduled to start and end without causing conflicts to funeral processions.

No.

[Pete from Boston]

Just extend the school day to start well before and end well after the rush hours.  I don't know a lot of parents who'd complain about the extra hours of peaceful time.  Kids need a longer school day anyway.

[noelbotevera]

Just extend the school day to start well before and end well after the rush hours.  I don't know a lot of parents who'd complain about the extra hours of peaceful time.  Kids need a longer school day anyway.

It's a problem for two reasons:
1. Elementary (younger kids) REALLY hate having to be up at times like 5 AM, so that's why most elementary schools start smack dab during rush hour at 8 AM.
2. Children must go to school at least seven hours per day, but not too long that it becomes hard. They end it at rush hour times so that they don't explode from TMI syndrome.