"The County Sheriff has determined that all of Franklin School District is in an unusually hazardous transportation area."

ABOVE: Would you let your child walk this gauntlet to school, even if it's only 1000 yards?

Nice little bullet point for a brochure touting Franklin, huh? That was the answer a citizen got when she asked school board president Jim Milzer about possibly saving money by not busing kids who live practically next door to their school.

Let's repeat that astounding-but-true statement:

"The County Sheriff has determined that all of Franklin School District is in an unusually hazardous transportation area."

(You can listen to the statement at Janet Evans's Righty Blog; it's under "A Franklin citizen makes a comment ..." ).

Sounds like a wonderful place to bring up kids. Henceforth, when you Google Franklin, Wisconsin you will likely encounter this blog entry and the statement:

"The County Sheriff has determined that all of Franklin School District is in an unusually hazardous transportation area."

Feel the pride.

As a commenter to my post from Wednesday ("Right wing water-carriers: Still thinking short term on sprawl") noted:

Busing is just another consequence of poor neighborhood design that comes back to us in the form of higher property taxes and transportation costs. You can pay now when a neighborhood is built, or pay more later. The attitude is focused on saving in the short run in Franklin, and that's a shame.

Save a dollar today; spend ten dollars to cover the shortsightedness tomorrow. But that's OK, because, as free market warrior Patrick McIlheran proudly notes, sprawl makes a house more inexpensive to buy.

Because there's no tomorrow, evidently.

See also:

    Roads as Sewers

    Roads that make you drive faster in places you should drive slow

    The Collector Road

    Traditional Neighborhood Design (TND) in Franklin: Who will step up?

Comments

[Fred Keller]

For cryin’ out loud, John, stop with all this, you’re “embarrassing” the city of Franklin, AGAIN!

[John]

On GOOGLE, no less!

[Janet Evans]

You see, you don't get it, John. (sarcastic smile) No children are suppposed to "walk" to school in Franklin. Period. End of story. Those children in your photo should not be on the edge of that street. They have no business being there. One home away...100 homes away.

Yet, the District saves money by asking residents to let them know if they will not be riding the bus. They cut down on busses that way. They do not say you are not allowed to NOT walk to school. Is a form signed releasing the District of responsibility is a walker is hurt on the way to school? I don't know. Since all children are entitled to bus transportation, if a parent declines...I would assume the District is not at fault.

[John Michlig]

I think the school district is indemnified because buses are available and the "stricken party" chose not to use that service.

Kids miss out on a lot nowadays. I used to complain about walking to and from school, but those journeys often ended up being highlights of the day. Modern kids are very, very constricted, so it's no wonder they can't handle their new freedom in college.