Opponents of signs placed near a school bus stop at Champion Avenue in Florida say they could leave children in unsafe positions as they wait for school buses, reported Gulf Coast News.
JoeAnn Alaniz, a Lehigh Acres resident whose five children ride the school bus, said the signs appeared after the first week of school, which began Aug. 11. Similar signs also appeared in a nearby San Carlos Park neighborhood.
Alaniz said she had a bench made for children at the stop because she was concerned about their safety, particularly after the death of a girl in a previous crash.
The bench follows earlier community efforts to create safer waiting areas for Lee County Public Schools students. School Transportation News reported in 2019 that residents formed Benches for our Babes after 12-year-old Alana Tamplin and 8-year-old Layla Aiken were killed in separate traffic incidents involving travel to or waiting at school bus stops.
Volunteers and local businesses assembled benches and picnic tables for stops across Lee County. Some were equipped with reflective tape, locks, and chains. Lee County school officials said at the time that benches could be part of the solution, but that student safety also requires adult supervision, lighting, sidewalks and attentive motorists.
“You can replace grass, but you can’t replace kids,” Alaniz said, criticizing what she said is a greater concern for landscaping than for children.
She also described drivers speeding around stopped school buses or trying to go faster than the bus, so they don’t have to stop. This behavior, she said, puts children walking to the stop at risk. Lee County officials said via the report that residents generally may not place signs within county-maintained rights of way along county roads.
The resident who installed the signs reportedly told deputies and local news reporters that they were intended to keep parents from parking on the easement. She said parked vehicles leave students without enough room to wait and sometimes force them to stand in the roadway as the bus approaches.
Deputies suggested removing the trespassing signs, and the resident complied, the Sheriff’s Office said.
Lee County Public Schools urged parents to obey the law and treat others respectfully when picking up or dropping off children at bus stops. “We expect and encourage parents to follow the law when picking up or dropping their children off at the bus stop,” the district said via the news report. “We also expect and encourage them to be respectful. If that is not happening, then law enforcement should be notified.”
Written with the assistance of AI.
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