CAPE CORAL, Fla. -- Parents in the gated community of Sandoval say that Lee County School Buses cannot enter the neighborhood, therefore leaving kids to be dropped off on the street and walk to get home.
"To see people driving the wrong way down the road in the round-a-bout because the traffic is backing up so bad and my children are being dropped off for the bus and then they’re required to walk one and half miles because the bus won’t drive in the community,” said Sandoval resident and mom, Stacy Barner.
Barner tells Fox 4 that the walk from the gate to her house is about a mile and a half long. In order to keep her 7-year-old and 11-year-old safe, the full-time mom makes eight trips every day for pick ups and drop offs.
“My first drop off is at 8 o’clock and then I take my son to school because he’s outside the 2 mile limit. And I do pick up for the bus here at the gate at 3:40 and then again I do a pick up over at Trafalgar at 4:15.”
The Lee County School Board Transportation Policy says: "Students living within private gated residential developments or on private roads shall be required to use a bus stop on a public road near their developments...Bus stops may be established inside a “gated community” if it is determined by the Transportation Department that there are no safe locations."
According to the District, parents in Barner's position can either request for their child not to be left at the bus stop or pay for after school day care. Nevertheless, Barner feels allowing the buses inside the gated community is the best option for both parents and the public.
“For safety, I believe our children should be dropped off closer to home...I’m worried that she’s going to be taken.”
