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Officials: Bus Stop Safety Is An Annual Message
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Published: September 23, 2008
BROOKSVILLE - With 460 school bus stops around the county, it's next to impossible for officials to make sure every child waiting for a ride to school is safe.
That's why it's your job, too.
Sheriff Richard Nugent and School Superintendent Wayne Alexander have teamed up to spread the news about keeping alert near bus stops.
A TV spot featuring both Nugent and Alexander is airing now, in conjunction with public service announcements on the radio. The media campaign began before Sept. 9, when 13-year-old Kaitlyn Harper was fatally struck by a pickup truck on California Street as she walked to a bus stop.
The ads are a continuation of a public safety tradition that started three to four years ago, not a response to the tragedy, Nugent said Monday.
"The sheer number of bus stops" makes it difficult to monitor everyone, Nugent said. "That's why we do the prevention."
Alexander said he filmed the TV spot with the sheriff soon after he replaced the last superintendent 13 months ago.
People are probably more sensitive to the message following Harper's death, but "I hope the message would always be the same," he said.
School officials have a follow up meeting today with the county's department of public works to come up with a plan for making improvements at some of the district's bus stops.
They are expected to focus on three areas: signage, lighting and sidewalks.
Youngsters who use the bus stop where Harper died, near Narrow Road, said at the time of the accident that the darkness is so deep in the early morning that it's difficult to discern objects on the other side of the road.
County Engineer Charles Mixson said today's meeting will help establish which of the bus stops in the county deserve priority status for improvement.
Some of the options are to put a designated "pad" on the side of the road for children to stand on or widening the shoulder of the road.
In the meantime, the sheriff said his deputies are actively patrolling school zones and keeping an eye out for motorists passing stopped school buses.
"One child hit is one too many," Nugent said.
Reporter Kyle Martin can be reached at 352-544-5271 or kmartin@hernandotoday.com.
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