Parents in North Gower raise concerns over unsafe school bus access

School bus driver shortage Parents in North Gower say their kids walk 30 minutes to the bus stop due to the school bus driver shortage. CTV's Tyler Fleming reports.

With the start of the new school year just days away, many parents and students of a North Gower subdivision, are raising concerns about the safety of the walk their children have to take to the school bus stop.

Last year, about 30 children who attend South Carleton High School were assigned to a coach bus that departs from the Alfred Taylor Recreation Centre in the town core, as opposed to a regular school bus with local stops.

To reach the bus, students must walk 2.5 kilometres, much of it down Roger Stevens Drive, an 80 km/h, two-lane road with no sidewalks.

"I haven't walked this road. It's pretty dangerous," says student Lukas Spare, who will be heading into Grade 9 in September. "I don't think we should have to walk down here, especially in the winter because a car could just slide off the road and hit us."

His older sister, Ceilidh, echoed his concerns, noting the lack of sidewalks and deep ditches.

"It’s scary. The cars are going really fast," she says.

Parents have also expressed frustration over the Ottawa Student Transportation Authority’s (OSTA) handling of the situation, particularly as they were informed that the same arrangement would continue this year.

"A 39-minute walk on an 80 km/h road is not safe for these kids here," says Shannon Miller, whose child also requires the bus. "We expressed concerns all last year. There were numerous phone calls, numerous emails, and numerous contacts saying that this was an inappropriate or inadequate accommodation for our children."

Despite these efforts, Miller, like many parents in the area, feel that OSTA has done little to address the issue, adding there are additional risks to the walk come winter, as students must leave their home at 6:45 a.m., in darkness, in order to catch the bus.

"We were told that we would be considered, but we’ve had no results communicating on a weekly basis," says Jennifer, another concerned parent.

In a statement to CTV News Ottawa, OSTA says that the situation is a result of the ongoing school bus driver shortage.

According to the OSTA, the route is serviced by a coach bus instead of a yellow school bus, which limits where the bus can perform pick-ups and drop-offs due to the lack of safety features like overhead lamps and a stop arm, as required by the Highway Traffic Act.

"We are actively examining a solution to address the concerns being raised and will share the results of that process with parents shortly," says OSTA.

In the meantime, parents remain hopeful a solution can be reached.

"We've all tried to do our best with carpooling, but many children's parents are now being sent back to work," says Jennifer, "and people are scrambling to try to figure out how to safely get their children to this."