NEW KENSINGTON, Pa. — Nikki Lauff told Channel 11 that about 20 kids from the New Kensington Arnold School District catch the school bus in her small neighborhood at the top of Oates Boulevard.
Recently, parents were told that kids now walk down the steep hill to catch the bus by this busy four-lane highway. Roenigk Bus Company told parents the road conditions were too difficult for the buses.
“As a kid, we didn’t have buses in high school, and we had to walk down that hill all of the time… the number of times I almost got hit by a car…” shared Lauff. “So that was us in high school, and now they want elementary school kids to walk down that hill, and it’s not safe.”
Drone 11 shows the many small potholes and the uneven pavement on the road, but we also saw several cars moving up and down it. We contacted W.L. Roenigk bus company to ask how they planned to address parents’ concerns, and they now tell us they’ll send a van instead of a bus.
“It’s so hard to try and do this in a full-size bus up there because of the conditions of the road,” said Tom McCracken, Manager of the Melwood Garage. “So we put them on a van, and a van does it now, so a bus doesn’t have to go up there.”
McCracken and Lauff both said they would like the City of New Kensington to pave the road.
“Not a single kid rode a bike this year because they were afraid to flip over the handlebars or just fall,” said Lauff.
McCracken explained, “Once they get the roads done, we will put the buses back on it that we’re going up there.”
In a statement, the New Kensington City Clerk told Channel 11, “The city of New Kensington is currently in the midst of a $1.7 million paving project. Oates Boulevard and Birch Way are scheduled to be paved before October 31st of this year.”
Until the roads are paved, Roenigk said they will continue to send vans up this hill to keep kids safe.
Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts.
Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW