Fayette County Public Schools will consolidate bus routes along neighborhood roads to areas with higher priority for city clearing during extreme weather events beginning this winter.
The new plan, which Lexington city officials and FCPS staff are set to finalize later this month, is in response to public outcry over prolonged school closures during winter weather events the past two years.
The alternative stops, called plan B, will only be used in the event of snow and ice, and won’t disrupt typical FCPS bus routes already in place.
“We want families to understand these are changes that would occur at stops within neighborhoods, not along major thoroughfares," Mayor Linda Gorton said Thursday at a news conference at city hall announcing the plan.
Officials gave few specific details about the consolidations, but said they will occur in spots that will be prioritized for clearing with city crews and prepared for a volume of traffic as parents bring their children to those stops.
The district hasn’t had a plan B for bus routes in place for at least three decades, FCPS Chief Operating Officer Myron Thompson said.
Its development follows the rollout of the mayor’s overhauled snow plan for clearing all Lexington roadways.
Several recent severe winter weather events, including one earlier this year, have crippled the city. During the ice storms, crews failed to adequately clear streets and roads, closing schools and businesses for more than a week. In response to the criticism, the mayor rolled out a new plan last week.
The efforts include contracting out clearing for major roads, like Man O’ War, and focusing city crews on neighborhood streets, increasing the budget and timing for pretreatment, and streamlining rank 3 and 4 roads.
Lexington’s snow response has become a key issue in the Tuesday, Nov. 3 election in which Gorton is seeking a third and final term.
FCPS officials are asking parents and guardians to study the final document when it rolls out in late October so they are familiar with plan B bus routes.
The school district is Kentucky’s second largest, with a student population around 40,000.
