Do FCPS parents oppose the walk radius for schools?
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Anonymous
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In LCPS, the walk radius (whether you get a bus or not) is .8 miles in elementary school and 1.0 for middle and high school. Just this year LCPS enacted super strict enforcement of the distance. It has turned carline from a semi-nightmare into a complete one. No one is going to walk elementary school kid .8 miles (often with a toddler/preschooler in tow) and then back again, and then do it again at the end if the day.
People in Loudoun complain about it all the time. Is this an issue in Fairfax? |
Anonymous
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We drive.
What kind of system do you have for kiss and ride? That might be part of your problem. |
Anonymous
| I don't know of anyone who complains about it. I think the radius is one mile for us in ES. |
Anonymous
Yes, this is correct as long as there are sidewalks and no heavily traveled roads to cross without a crossing guard. |
Anonymous
| I don't even know with the radius is anymore. One of mine walks and one of mine takes the bus. If push came to shove the one that takes the bus COULD walk. We are not that far away. |
Anonymous
| We're about .75 miles away and DD takes the bus. We'd prefer to wok but she's not allowed because she would have to cross a main road that has no crossing guard. |
Anonymous
| Sorry, walk, not wok. I must be hungry. |
Anonymous
OP here. Yes, this is part of the problem. The kiss and ride is extremely backed up and takes a really long time. Its about 10-15 minutes of waiting in the morning and closer to 20-25 in the afternoon (because they have to match kids with the specific car/parent.) This is our first year at the school but veteran parents have said its much worse this year than previous years because they eliminated several buses this year claiming the riders had "technically" been in the walk zone the whole time. Over 1/2 the school is considered "walkers" but I don't think very many walk, especially not in winter. The first few weeks of school the line was better, but not great. The thing that irks me is that in evaluating the "safety" of the student's walk route, the school board says they do NOT expect the student to be able to walk the route alone and that they expect a parent to accompany them. This seems wrong to me. How is that a "safe" walk route if even they agree I need to walk with her. Our walk route is .79 miles and mostly down a VERY busy road. Speed limit is 35mph but people routinely do 45mph. I don't feel comfortable walking down this road, even on a sidewalk, with cars wooshing past me. When we get near the school, instead of crossing the busy road, we are expected to take this dark, damp, extremely sketchy tunnel. So we drive. Ugh. |
Anonymous
| Does your school have a tag system? If not they need to get one. |
Anonymous
| They need more sidewalks before they can force strict radius rule. Even for hs. |
Anonymous
| I think a .8 mile walk is reasonable in elementary school. |
Anonymous
what's a tag system? |
Anonymous
I think it is very reasonable, but without sidewalks it isn't safe. |
Anonymous
For a 1st grader? Alone? I am the OP, and I would NEVER let my child walk from my house to school alone. Maybe in 4th or 5th, but I'm not sure even then. EVEN THE SCHOOL says I should not let my child walk alone. So is it really reasonable for me to spend 2 hours a day (1 hr round trip 2x a day) walking her to/from school. Obviously I think not. |
Anonymous
No, of course not alone. No distance is safe alone at 6 years old. You had to know when you bought your house that getting to school would require you escorting her there in some way. The method you choose is up to you. |