The parents said that wildlife and bad weather were also concerns, especially for young children walking long distances in Coleman. They presented statistics from Fish and Wildlife showing multiple sightings of bears, moose, coyotes, and cougars in the community.
They contended that even with the underpass of Highway 3 near Horace Allen School, there are still traffic safety issues. Sidewalks often aren't plowed in the winter, they said, while a parent volunteer, with assistance from the bylaw officer, measured vehicle speeds on the highway beside Horace Allen as high as 85 km per hour between 3:30 and 4:30 p.m.
According to Safe Kids Canada, they said, children typically don't acquire several important traffic safety skills until they are 9 to 11 years old. Students at Horace Allen School are typically 5 to 8 years old. The railway through the community presented similar safety concerns, they said.
In the winter, the parents noted, children walking to school in temperatures below -25 Celsius can suffer from frostbite, as exposed skin can start to freeze at that temperature. Blowing snow can decrease visibility for vehicles driving on slippery roads as well, they said.
The parents, when interviewing other school divisions, asked seven main questions.
Of the 40 school divisions interviewed, said McNeil, Livingstone Range was the only one who answered no to all of the following items.
Only seven percent of the divisions questioned said that they did not either bus students with 2.4 km or offer a bus pass, according to the group's research. Only 14 percent said that they would not drop a child off at an alternative bus stop or route. Only five percent of communities surveyed said that there were no after school care programs available, and only five percent of the divisions said that they do not allow transportation to alternative caregivers in joint custody situations. The Pass fit into the no section on all of these matters.
McNeil said that they recognize that the days of busses taking students to sports and after-school programs are over, but that they want the division to work with parents to provide more options. She said that parents are willing to pay for a bus pass within the 2.4 km, which would offset the cost to the division.
She added that she hopes the division will also offer more than one drop-off or pick-up location for families with joint custody situations, at the least. She said that it would also be a great help if parents could designate where their one pick-up and drop-off location would be, rather than have it automatically be at home. That would allow parents to have children dropped off at a grandparent's or at some other place where they would be taken care of if both parents are working.
The group will also be presenting their concerns and findings to council on April 27, at the governance and priorities committee meeting.