School bus parking gives birth to Web site, complaints

I noted with some humor the MoveThatBus.org site is closed with two words posted: "Mission Accomplished". Somehow I doubt that's true, otherwise I would think the webmaster would have posted just how they succeeded. Based on many of the postings in support of the bus driver, the site was probably shut down for one reason only – things just weren’t going the way the anti-bus neighbors wanted. It's a shame - most of the posters FOR moving the bus seemed more concerned about aesthetics, how it was almost criminal the bus driver could afford a $300k house, a boat, RV, and a pool (jealous maybe?), and how rude the bus driver was to them (maybe a response to this neighborhood's gang mentality?).

I don't believe this neighborhood belongs to a home owner's association. Also, if I'm to understand, there are some very stupid laws in Chesapeake that states people aren't allowed to park such things as boats, campers, RV's, even jetskis in any area of their yard except the rear - out of view. That aside, I still believe the bus driver is well within her full and legal rights to park the bus on her own property.

I left this same comment on the “Move the Bus” website....
I understand that people have a legitimate concern about safety, but you must consider a balance of rights. For example: if you state that it is a problem but it is legal, the homeowner’s association should address it. If the homeowner association states that it is not a problem then you should drop it. But I have a couple of questions,
1. Has anybody tried to work out something with the bus driver? Give a neutral area for the bus to be parked?
2. Has anybody compared this bus parked at the home to a Winnebago? They are the same size (in some cases) and they are quite a deal to make a three point maneuver. Yet people have the right to park that in their yard.
To sum it up, one person can not tell another how to live without due process. And if the authorities can not change it and the Homeowner’s Association can not change it. Then maybe it is because of

I visited the movethebus site referenced in the article. Repeated remarks state that the issue is all about safety. That the bus parked on the street and obstructed the view of the intersection and children would dart out, etc.

The image provided by the Pilot and on the movethebus site both show this bus parked on a driveway at the rear of the home. Did the bus driver build a pad for the bus to get it off the street to appease the neighbors at his/her own expense? If so, why are they still upset? There is no safety issue - the intersection is not obstructed - the bus isn't even parked on the street.

I would have more respect for the movethebus people if they had been honest about this problem in the first place. All they appear to care about is aesthetics - not safety.

So far it's 36 in favor of leaving the bus driver alone(support)and 17 complainers. That says a lot. And I really agree with all of ricm's comments. He makes some very good points. More power to the bus driver!

If we stored the kids in the schools in cages at night, then there would be no reason to bus them around in the morning and in the evening.

As a former bus driver in Chesapeake who drove for six years, I just cannot keep my mouth (fingers) shut! I parked my big cheese on the side of my property (on the "neck" of the culdesac behind me) almost the entire time I drove. I live on the corner of a cul-de-sac and main road in our subdivision. I made sure it was far enough from the corner so my neighbors behind me can turn safely. No one complained, almost, until my fourth year when a neighbor parked her work truck where I park my bus right before school opened. She told my husband it was an eyesore, but we won the fight. The other neighbors never minded. It is convenient, especially to those of us who started when it was still semi-dark. The reason for parking at home and not at the bus lot is this --if you have over 300 bus drivers coming to work, there were not 300parking spaces for them to park. School lots are great, but if one bus gets vandalized, all 8 or 10 get messed up. Do the math and see that hundreds of students do not get picked up on time. Who pays for the repairs? You do, I do, we all pay. If the newer buses are made with locks, then it is okay to park them at the schools. And if they tell one dr

O M G, are these people serious!? I viewed the website and saw more details on how this bus is parked, and there is NOTHING wrong with the way the bus is parked and where it's parked. First of all its on the bus driver's PERSONAL PROPERTY. Where she pays taxes and mortgage. Second, the only time this bus would be operated is when the kids aren't playing in the street. It seems these neighbors don't want to take the time and wait while she backs out. If it's such a pain for them to pause of 30 seconds, then they should park their car at the beginning of the cul-de-sac, so that way they have a clear shot out of there. It should be illegal to spend so much time and such and asinine issue!

As someone who lives in a "revitalizing" neighborhood, I can sympathize with people who are trying to keep their neighborhood up to a reasonable standard.

Once one type of large commercial vehicle is considered ok, it is reasonable to visualize a slippery slope that eventually allows other types of large commercial vehicle, trucks, RV's, boats, parking on the grass, parking on the sidewalks, etc.

I have to agree with the neighbors, I am afraid. A residential neighborhood is no place to park large commercial/quasi-commercial vehicles.

Sell and move to A. HOA that bans boats, trailers and large vehicles with a demonstrated history of enforcement across the entirety. B. A 50 and better community C. A condominium or high-rise with compact spacing or parking deck.

childish can you get? Someone is that vindictive that they spend making a website over some asinine non-existent problem? People, you need to grow up.

At least the bus is parked in their driveway, off the street. During school, there is a bus parked across the street from my friend's driveway, on a street that doesn't have enough room for two cars to drive down it at the same time. Try getting around that one!!

Why don't city buses get parked in the driveway of the driver then? Wouldn't that save fuel too? I don't think fuel savings was a concern in school bus drivers taking their buses home. They've been doing it decades, long before diesel cost $4.50/gal. Wouldn't it make more sense to have a few strategically located bus lots rather than clutter our neighborhoods with these huge yellow behomoths? Most residential streets around here are one-lane roads as it is, what with every household owning 3 or 4 vehicles. The buses just compound the problem.

I have no issue with the bus being parked in the neighborhood. However, if this is about saving taxpayer money via saving fuel, then why are bus drivers allowed to sit at schools with the bus running for 30 minutes to an hour while waiting for their next run? Also, bus drivers are allowed to use their buses to drop their children off at a school not on their route. I don't necessarily have a problem with that, either, but it negates the $ saving argument.

why can't the bus driver park at the school? well lets see they can't park at some high schools because they have drivers ed on the bus ramp. and the elem. schools don't like them to park on the bus ramp because they use them for P.E.

You ask why the driver can't drive to work like everyone else. Here's a logical and fiscal answer. Depending on how far the bus yard is from the driver's route, it would be a waste of fuel. Let's say the bus yard is five miles from the beginning of the driver's route. Buses might get 7-8 mpg at best. So in one day the bus cost an extra $6 is fuel. Multiply that by 180 school days - not counting field trips, and that one bus now drained $1,080 of your tax dollars. Now multiply that by the number of buses in the Chesapeake school system, and it adds up to quite a number. Since most driver's live close to or at the actual start of their route, the extra fuel cost is nearly zero.

Why can't the school bus driver just park the bus at school and take her car to work like everyone else?

As was stated earlier by the person who drives a tractor trailer I to drive one and can not park my tractor in my driveway without being in violation of a city code pertaining to commercial vehicles in residential neighborhoods. What's the difference of the bus being a commercial vehicle for the city you need a commercial drivers license to drive one.

The garbage trucks that come into the cul-de-sac are in and out. They do not make three point turns or back up. The truck is here once a week for less than five minutes. This particular bus is in and out of the cul-de-sac four times a day, five days a week. It isn't completely contained on the driveway, so the gate is left open (off its hinges actually), exposing a swimming pool that is not properly secured. The parking of the bus is just one of several disasters waiting to happen.

After looking at the site, this whole thing seems like a blown up issue were neighbors don't like neighbors. How the bus was parked has been declared legal. Now the neighbors are using a website to attack their neighbor. How childish can they be?

So-called 'professional' transportation services often aren't that professional either; cutting corners as much as they can typically to make as much money as they can. Neighbors who are bus drivers are at least linked to their community and actually care about what they are doing and are going to take those extra steps to make certain all their neighbors' kids get to and from school safely. The neighbors should count their blessing!