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Orchard Hill bus loop plan changes Mail Tribune / Roy Musitelli Reworked plans for a bus loop at Orchard Hill Elementary School in Medford please neighbors such as Barbara and John Newell. The Newells and others protested a plan that would have had buses idling at their back yards; the new plan would send the buses out of school grounds on Juanipero Way, away from neighbors who complained. Phoenix-Talent School District redesigns plan because of Medford neighbors' objections By DAMIAN MANN Mail Tribune Bowing to neighborhood concerns about traffic on a residential street, Orchard Hill Elementary School's proposed bus loop has been completely redesigned. "We don't think that they should really build it at all," said neighbor Barbara Newell. "But if they have to build it, this is much closer to what we would prefer." The Phoenix-Talent School District originally wanted to expand Orchard Hill's bus parking lot into a playground area along back yards of homes on La Loma Drive. Buses would have entered and exited school grounds at La Loma, as they do now. But about 20 neighbors complained, estimating the 500 buses and cars going in and out each day would increase to 700 once the district finishes building four new classrooms. The Medford Planning Commission agreed, rejecting plans last year for the $100,000 expansion project. School district Business Manager Doug Spani said the district went back to the drawing board and created a new plan under which buses will enter school grounds from La Loma and exit on Juanipero Way. A new driveway would be built along the eastern edge of a playground area owned by the district, and the parking lot wouldn't run behind the La Loma neighbors' yards. Plans call for the new driveway to be used by buses only, but Spani said cars might eventually use it as well. "We'll have to see how it affects traffic," said Spani. Gates would be installed at both ends of the new driveway area to prevent its use when the campus is closed. The design also would include a 10-foot landscaping buffer area and sidewalk alongside the bus driveway. Neighbors so far have reacted favorably to the plans, which the school district hopes to put before the Planning Commission soon. "We've been real pleased with the support we've received thus far with the revised plan," said school board chairman Craig Prewitt. Newell is also relieved. "Thank God, it (the parking lot) is not going to go alongside where we live." However, Newell is still not happy with the pollution generated by the diesel fumes from the buses that come by her house every day. "Diesel fuel releases about 450 toxins into the atmosphere," she said. Her husband, John Newell, said most neighbors seem to support the district's new plans. "It's an example of what happens when the system does work," he said. The bus loop and parking lot expansion that will add seven extra spaces is part of an overall $2 million remodeling project at the school. The school also has upgraded its flooring, lighting and heating and air conditioning system. If all goes well with the city, the parking lot and bus loop improvements should be completed by the end of summer and classroom additions by the end of the year. Funding for the projects has come from $16.2 million in voter-approved bonds. Reach reporter Damian Mann at 776-4476, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.