Parents raise concerns over bus stop next to I-25 exit

A bus stop off Interstate 25 has some parents upset and questioning the Pueblo County School District’s priorities.

Mothers Pauline Boyd and Cheri Carroll said the district is putting their children’s safety at risk.

“People don’t yield to the bus stop sign,” Carroll said.

“We have homeless people that camp out here on the exit all the time,” Boyd said.

They’re referring to an exit off I-25, about 11 miles south of Pueblo. “I’m worried about my son getting ran over,” Carroll said.

Earlier this school year, the bus stopped in front of Carroll’s home to pick up and drop off her son who attends school at Rye Elementary. But the school district moved the stop next to the mile marker 83 exit on I-25 because it’s doing away with door-to-door service and moving to regional bus stops — in part to save money.

“It’s not as convenient to have to go to a regional bus stop, but in these times of economic difficulty there are some hard choices that have to be made and regional stops would be have to one of those,” said Pueblo County School District Superintendent Ed Smith.

It turns out bus stops off of I-25 aren’t new for the Pueblo County School District. Smith said the district has been using them for more than 20 years and says State Patrol deems them safe.

“We will monitor this stop as we do all of them, and to make sure that it is a safe place for our kids,” Smith said. “But at this point we feel like it is safe.”

“It’s not on a main road. The traffic isn’t bad. It’s just the parents who pick up and drop off their students usually that are driving by here,” said Tiffany Gernazio, who was picking up her kids at the bus stop.

But those parents who are concerned say they want the stop moved to a safer location.

Carroll said, “It’s not fair to our children. It’s not fair to us parents to have to worry about our children when they’re getting on and off a bus.”

The district said having regional bus stops as opposed to door-to-door service saves the district about $1 million a year.