'It scares me': Mother asks for signs, lights at highway bus stop

A Carleton County woman has been calling on the province to add signage and flashing lights along a busy highway where her two children wait to take the bus to school.

Renée Sullivan lives down a stretch of road off Route 107 near Glassville, about 45 kilometres north of Woodstock. She said she sees vehicles racing by daily, while her two eldest daughters get on and off the bus.

"It makes my heart hurt even thinking of it, that one of my children are going to get hit," said the mother of three.

Sullivan and her family moved to 65 Beaver Brook Rd. two years ago, and their house is about 100 metres from the highway.

Her two daughters, Cassandra, 11, and Chloe, 7, cross the highway every morning just before 7:30. And they're dropped off around 4 p.m. after attending Florenceville Middle School and Bristol Elementary School.

On the stretch of highway, vehicles are travelling over the speed limit, which is 80 km/h.

In the span of one month, she's also seen two vehicles drive past the school bus while its lights were flashing.

"It's the only passing lane on a very bumpy, twisty road," she said. "So people get quite agitated sitting behind vehicles or buses that are going the speed limit."

She refuses to let her kids get picked up by themselves in the morning, because the stretch of highway is also used by logging trucks headed to a nearby lumber mill.

'People don't want to slow down'

The closest sign that indicates the area is a school bus loading zone is almost six kilometres away on the eastbound side. And there's no signage westbound.

"People have no idea there are kids getting on the bus here."

But Sullivan isn't convinced signs will even help.

"People don't want to slow down," she said. "They're so distracted. It's crazy."

And if something were to happen, there's no cell service on that stretch of highway to call an ambulance.

"It scares me."

Jeremy Trevors, a spokesperson for the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure, said the province has evaluated this particular location and no additional signage "is required."

"Signage for school bus loading locations is primarily based on available sight distance and the available sight distance exceeds the minimum required," Trevors said in an emailed statement to CBC News on Tuesday afternoon.

"It's important to note, sight distance is a measurement of the distance required for a vehicle to safely stop."

Highway pickups are common

Sullivan has asked if the bus could drive down the road to her home but said the request was denied by the Anglophone West School District.

When it comes to bus pickups, Judy Cole, a spokesperson for the district, said staff consult the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure,

"A review of the bus route along Route 107 near Beaver Brook Road was conducted and revealed we are compliant with the Education Act in terms of the regulations for side roads," she said in an emailed statement to CBC News.

Cole also said it's not uncommon for school buses to pick up and drop off students along secondary roads and highways in rural areas.

But Sullivan is hoping something will change soon.

"I just want my kids to be safe."