Maybe the city/county should consider running public transportation buses on routes in the morning and afternoon to help students get to and from school at a reduced fare to high school aged students. extra bus routes could help solve this problem and also help raise revenue for the bus system to buy more buses and install more stops. Parents might be more apt to drop students off at off campus locations if visd had buses there to transport the students, this seems like a workable idea because it would get some of the traffic heading to these sites instead of the school. These could be located at sites with large parking lots all over the city and have students sign up for seats at these sites to plan for correct number of buses to meet them there.

let the system work for a month and then lets see how it is working. by then everyone will be used to the layout. If it is still a problem then address the problem with extra lanes and/or more ways in and out. Visd needs to learn from this for future campus designs.

From my personal experience with VISD school bus routes, It will NEVER will be my fault because the BUS DRIVER can't do his job correctly. And if you don't think only having one entrance to a HIGH SCHOOL isn't absurd, you really do need to use that link for yourself. You seem to be only looking at it from an outside perspective, obviously.

Next we will be told how expensive it is to bus all the kids and they need more money.

And how does staggering times so the older kids get 30 minutes extra sleep if they are getting on a bus at 6:30.

@ N45BA - I'm guessing you are judging us because of our personal experiences with VISD and labeling us as whiners because of it?! Shame on YOU! My kids deserve WAY better than what they were given in regards to the school bus system in Vic. Who are YOU to judge MINE as well as my CHILDREN'S INEXCUSABLE experiences. Do us all a favor and use that link you so "gracefully" suggested for yourself. Me ne frego ... Mettersi il paraocchi. ;)

I would suggest VISD work on their communication skills. It seems to be the parents fault that the traffic was bad. Hummm?

Today (this am around 8:05) the traffic at the West High School, was much, much better, in and out with ten minutes, I guess they were right, just give it a few days and it will work out! Thank goodness!

I would send my student on the bus---it would save me time and not interfere with my work schedule. However, where I live, the bus comes at 6:10 AM.... my child doesn't have to be at school until 8:30 ---- Ok, I know, the bus also picks up the younger kids and drops them off at Torres Elementary and then the Stroman Middle School Campus, but it seems to me that being on the bus for 2 hours in the morning, then going to school from 8:30 til 4:00 and waiting another 30 - 45 minutes to catch the bus home, and not getting home til almost 6:00 pm is horrible! Most adults don't work that many hours each day. Up until about 2 years ago, the bus picked up the younger kids at 6:30, then came back and picked up middle school and high school kids at 7:15. But the powers that be did away with the extra morning route and the parents were left with no choice except get the kids up at 5:30, to catch the bus or take them to school ourselves....

Someone suggested "picking up" the kids at the Bell Tower entrance... picking up isn't the problem... it's dropping off in the morning... Ben Jordan is already congested with the Deleon traffic.

Riding the bus is not the answer. The morons that made the decision need to own up that it was a stupid one and rectify the situation. Build another entrance and add sidewalks so the kids that are walking don't have to go through the fields.

Sorry N45BA, I think the correct link is

http://www.armstrongmovers.com/

When did Ray Miller become the spokesman for VISD? That was his way of saying" Good citizens of Victoria, as your Deputy Director for Development, I screwed up. Yes, I know it's hard to believe, however we here at the City of Victoria, completely and negligently, and with wantful disregard for the obvious, screwed the goose on this project."

"Ray Miller, deputy director of development services for the city, said he hopes to look for simple ways of solving the problem, like ride-sharing and promoting more students to ride the bus.

"Some of those are minor changes, but those changes add up," he said.

The bus lane at West is cover area where the gym.

Guess the East school was more planned out, heard they do have special bus lanes, and traffic is moving very smoothly there - have not seen it, but that is what I have heard. Guess it makes sense because there has not been news coverage showing the long lines of traffic on the local news at 6pm

I will admit, I did not even finish reading all the comments. FIRST - why does VISD think it can dictate to parents to send kids on bus? If they wanted to ride a bus, they would already be on one. I am not an engineer, but good grief, Stevie Wonder could see that you need more than one way in and out of a school, much less TWO schools. Wasn't there congestion at the schools before? I graduated over 30 years ago and I can tell you, even then when classes were over, there was ALWAYS traffic congestion, so what made the powers that be think there would not be a traffic problem?

I have to agree with just about everybody comment. Why couldn't there a bus drive way that would help alot. Even one drive for IN and one OUT drive way. But like everybody was worried about kids leaving campus. They put up chain on the exits during school hours. Then open the for proper times. Any body who has a brain could this problem before it got this far. But Victoria officals strike again. My friends at work laugh about Victoria officals.

Diane Boyett said - "Parents do not have to create long lines of traffic if they let their children ride the bus."

HUMMMM.... WELL, DIANE! I "CHOOSE" TO NOT let my kids ride the bus because just as with the ridiculous ONE entrance to the HS, y'all can't even get the bus routes right. Twice last year my children were not picked up.

SO, NO THANK YOU! I will take my own children to school. Not only will they get there a lot sooner, also, I feel more content about ME taking them than those who can't even get routes right when that's their JOB!

I just can't get over the ONE entrance to a HS...I mean even CUERO has more than one way to get in! CUERO!!!!

Folks,

We can post all of the obvious comments as to how idiotic it was to place the schools where they are and how ignorant it was to have one entrance/exit. Until the yoyos that supposedly govern this town and school district are removed from office Victoria will continue to be a sub-par place to exist. Please do not forget to vote in November!

Dear Ms. Boyett

"At Victoria West High School, a second entrance along Zac Lentz Parkway was not possible because the land between the school and the road is private property"

All government agencies have the right of eminent domain i.e. condemnation.

This article just goes to prove the complete lack of leadership in victoria. ISD, city and county. Everyone talks leadership but no one has shown it

Our rocket scientist School Board Members have their heads in the sand again.......any person with a lick of sense would figure out that one entrance is crazy.....maybe good for Edna but not a City this size, c'mom members wake up and shake the dust of yourselves, you should all be evaluated by the citizens and dismissed.

Seems like this should have been the headline for an article a year or two ago.

It seems at the West HS, to many cars are pausing and stopping to see what parking spaces may be opened in the student parking area, which in turn cause's a huge delay, it would had been nice to see two lanes one for parking and one for dropping off students, but yesterday did seem a little better.

the best spot to pick up kids is the bell tower entrance off ben jordan. you avoid the mess on mockingbird.

I don't think that whoever designed the schools with just one entrance thought it through.... On day two of school, it took more than 15 minutes for me to get from Stockbauer to the East Campus entrance! And there were 2 police officers directing traffic. Oh yeah, and riding the bus..... Well, if the bus schedule weren't so messed up, maybe more HS students would ride the bus.