By Stephanie Petrellese

The Garden City Board of Education moved one step closer to revising the student transportation policy and creating three Child Safety Zones by unanimously approving the first reading at its May 20th meeting. The revision will become official in July after three readings.

At the April 7th school board work session, Superintendent of Schools Dr. Robert Feirsen recommended revising the school district's current transportation policy because it is not consistent with New York State law at the primary and elementary school levels.

Policy #8400 stipulates that transportation should be provided for students in kindergarten through grade five who live more than one-half mile from their respective elementary or primary school; for students in grades six through eight who live more than three-quarters of a mile from the middle school; and for students in grades nine through twelve who live more than one-and-one-half mile away from the high school. The distance is measured by the nearest available route from home to school. The district's thresholds are lower than what state law requires.

The policy provision that conflicts with state law reads that "in addition to distance, [transportation] consideration shall be given to elementary school students if the route to school would require them to cross a street with a volume of traffic in excess of 500 vehicles per hour at arrival or dismissal times." New York State regulations indicate that mileage must be the determining factor for eligibility for transportation.

Therefore, Dr. Feirsen asked the transportation department to revise routes to end the busing of students who live less than one-half mile from Hemlock, Homestead and Stewart Schools, with the exception of the areas he proposed should be designated as Child Safety Zones.

The change will affect 118 students, who will be notified before school begins in Sept. Students who receive transportation through an Individual Education Program would not be affected.

These zones, which are explained in the Child Safety Transportation Act of 1992, provide the one exception to the mileage-only criterion. School districts do not have to follow a mileage-only criterion if the area in question is designated a Child Safety Zone due to extremely hazardous conditions. Points are assigned to various types of hazards, which fall into three types: highways without sidewalks or adequate shoulders, highway intersections and highway-railroad grade crossings. Alternate routes to school must be considered before a Child Safety Zone is designated.

School districts are not required to establish these zones and Dr. Feirsen said it is a very rare occurrence. However, Dr. Feirsen recommended to the Board that the following areas be established as Child Safety Zones: The area within the Stewart Avenue walk-in zone located south of the Stewart Ave./Clinton Rd. railroad crossing (St. James South through the "tree streets"), and the area within the Stewart School walk-in zone located west of the school and south of Stewart Ave. (which includes Butler, Coventry, Emmet and Devereaux).

Dr. Feirsen also proposed a Child Safety Zone be established within the St. Joseph's School walk-in zone located north of the Franklin Ave. railroad track crossing.

The issue was researched by a 13-member transportation study group formed in January, comprised of representatives from the four Village property owners' associations, as well as the superintendent, assistant superintendent for business and finance, Inspector Kenneth Jackson from the Garden City Police Dept., the principals of Hemlock, Stewart and Homestead and St. Joseph's Schools, and the district's transportation supervisor and assistant transportation supervisor. Robert Mangan, the Village's director of Public Works, also assisted the committee.