The police and bus companies on Monday have said that they will make the after-school pick up process at Island School smoother. Photo: Ben Pang / SCMPIsland School met with several groups on Monday to talk about parking problems after students had to wait more than an hour to get on their bus home last week.
The school had a big traffic problem last week as a limited number of buses were allowed to park nearby. This caused a traffic jam for several hours every day from Tuesday to Thursday at around 3pm.
A source close to the problem said that there are usually 14 buses trying to park on narrow Borrett Road to collect students. But after some people nearby complained early last week, the police took action and only allowed six buses to park. Island School Principal Chris Binge told Young Post on Friday that this meant students had to wait for at least an hour to get on the buses.
The meeting on Monday was between Binge, the school’s parent-teacher association, Central and Western District Councillor Joseph Chan Ho-lim and Kwoon Chung Motors Company Limited, the bus company, and hoped to find solutions to the traffic issue.
Speaking to Young Post today, Chan said the police and the bus company will make the pick up process smoother.
“The police have promised they won’t take action against the bus drivers unless they see some major obstructions. They just want to ensure students get on the buses safely and smoothly,” said Chan.
“Kwoon Chung Motors Company Limited will remind drivers to park on Borrett Road 30 minutes before the school finishes. This move aims at not making any noises or causing trouble to the residents near the school,” Chan said.
The source was satisfied with the outcome of the meeting and hoped all parties would stick to the agreed terms.
The traffic issue has been very inconvenient for students. A 16-year-old Island School student, who asked not to be named, complained that it took her an hour to get on a school bus.
“There’s a lot of traffic. I’m lucky as my bus leaves earlier, but even then it takes me almost an hour. But other buses could have been stuck for more than an hour,” she said.