CLEVELAND — There’s a new push from Cleveland City Council members like Councilman Kevin Conwell to make it safer for students who catch the bus to and from school.
“I notice driving around my neighborhood or when I go places, cars just zoom right by the stopped arm,” said Conwell. “We have to change their behavior to look out for our children.”
Even parents like April Campbell, who is from out of state, said more needs to be done not just in Cleveland but across the country.
“I just feel like people don’t pay attention to the rules of the road anymore,” said April.
Last Monday, Cleveland City Council passed legislation to encourage the Cleveland Metropolitan School District to install school bus stop-arm safety cameras to catch drivers who fail to stop when the bus stop-arm is out.
Now, Conwell is sorting out funding, which he said will come from drivers’ penalty fines.
“The school system or the state will set a fund up. From that fund, you’ll pull down the $250 or if it’s a $1,000 or $2,000 for people breaking the law, and then they will pay a fine, that fine will go into a fund, once it goes into the fund then we can purchase more cameras,” said Conwell.
Conwell said he has yet to receive any specific incidents where someone has been injured from a car failing to stop at the bus stop arm.
But, he said drivers ignoring this safety tool is an issue impacting the entire city, so he hopes this law will give some peace of mind to parents like Kayla Campbell, who said she regularly sees drivers ignore the bus stop-arm as a delivery service driver.
“I’m concerned like how it is going to be for my child in the city someday. It’s a different lifestyle than from what I’m from,” said Kayla.
News 5 reached out to the Cleveland Metropolitan School District, who emailed the following statement:
"We are reviewing the resolution and will work with our Board of Education to determine the next steps. Currently, as a proactive measure, our operations department and transportation team go above and beyond state requirements to ensure our scholars’ safety. The majority of the time, our drivers implement drop-offs and pick-up measures that are on the residents’ side of the street."
“It’s sad that we have to do that but it’s people’s behaviors that we have to change,” said Conwell.
Conwell said he is arranging a meeting with the school district next week to figure out the next steps.
