Hays CISD designates 'dangerous' driving zones, but parents worry about road near high school

HAYS COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) — The Hays Consolidated Independent School District Board of Trustees approved a list of hazardous traffic zones so it can receive additional state funding to allow students to access bus services.

According to the school board, approximately 2,500 students live in hazardous traffic areas.

The Texas Education Association allocates $1 per mile to a school district, for students who live in areas more than two miles from a school, said Cassandra Behr, Hays CISD assistant director of transportation. A school district has the option to designate areas as “hazardous routes” if they are within two miles of the school and may be unsafe for a student to walk.

This allows a district to obtain additional funding for bus services for those students, Behr said.

“Dangerous is anything within three kilometers [from a school] it would be a dangerous path for a child to get to school. Generally, if parents choose for their child to walk to school [but would require] walking on a highway, crossing a major railroad crossing or walking on a railroad track,” Behr said.

On Monday, the Hays CISD board removed some areas considered unsafe and added others to its list. Some areas lost their designation because “there is now a safe path to get to school,” Behr said.

The amount of money the district receives for dangerous routes depends on the funding it gets for non-hazardous routes. Typically, a district will receive about 10 percent of the non-hazardous mileage budget for hazardous routes, she said.

Concerns about Hays High School crossing

Jack C Hays High School is located on Jack C Hays Trail in Kyle, Texas. That route was considered dangerous, but this year it was removed from the list, Behr said.

Yet students park in a new development across the street from the high school, about eight minutes from a crosswalk, and walk to school from there.

“These kids are trying to navigate and basically play human Frogger after school,” said Christina Bell, a mother of children who attend the school. “It’s so dangerous.”

Behr said the reason the road lost its hazardous designation was because of the crosswalk. However, she understands that many students do not take the time to cross safely.

“Our suggested path to safely access the school is that they go down to Koehlers Crossing and cross there at that crosswalk,” Behr said. “Students like to take the path of least resistance. So it’s not their preferred route to get there,” she added.

Behr said she would like a pedestrian crossing in front of the new development, but that presents a challenge because it is a state-owned road.

“We continue to have these conversations when we have these opportunities,” Behr said. “We know where students would like to cross so we want to recommend it. »

As for parents, they continue to hope that changes to the road will eventually be made.

“I just hate the fact that this is going to turn into something completely tragic [for something] to do,” Bell said. “Why don’t we, as adults in this situation, do something to prevent a serious accident.”

Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports and streaming videos, visit KXAN Austin.