As Utah students have headed back to school these last few weeks, it has come to my attention that our school bus policies have not been updated in decades.
The distance that elementary children have to live from the school to be provided bus transportation is one and a half miles, without any consideration of the type of route they have to walk. Since the time this policy was put into place, country roads have become busy thoroughfares.
My kindergarten-age granddaughter, who lives in St. George, is expected to walk a mile along two different main roads before she can finally cut through a neighborhood. A good portion of that route has no sidewalk.
Her mother has the means to drive her to school but what of the parents who don't?
I believe it is time to take a closer look at bus routes and consider safety as well as distance. Our children's lives are worth it.
Mary Lehman, Cottonwood Heights
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