Community concerns are leading to a route to school that doesn’t include discarded needles and speeding traffic in Kailua-Kona.
The potential danger is at the school bus stop on Henry Street, near the AlohaMart. Residents, including Naomi Camacho, were worried about the dangers of the traffic and the group of unsavory people who loitered there.
Years ago, the stop was at the end of Kalani Street, near the Mormon church. Here the bus could turn around and the children were safe, she said.
That stop was about 2,000 feet from the intersection with Kuakini Highway, where the stop was moved recently. There students from the three schools were kept together, until the intermediate and high school students were moved to their current location.
West Hawaii Complex Area superintendent Art Souza said the reason for the movement was the previous spot was deemed unsafe.
The active stop requires the students to walk northwest on Alahou Street, crossing through an inactive street and into the parking lot.
This lead them through an area occupied by drug users and alcoholics, said Camacho.
Two middle school girls were propositioned sexually while headed to school, she said.
Camacho says that language and the actions of the people there has lead to students holding their cellphones at all times, instead of carrying them in pockets or bags.
These concerns lead her and parents to wait at the site during the times where students would be loading or unloading. This seemed to discourage the people harassing the children, she said.
Even with the people absent, materials were left behind. This included fast food packaging, clothes, beer bottles and more dangerous items.
“… About a month ago my 10 year old and 7 year old found a used needle and decided to take it to school and keep it and bring it home. I’m not sure why in the world he would do this,” wrote Veronica Duguran in an email.
This lead to her teaching them the dangers of the drug paraphernalia present in the area.
Camacho pushed the school to move the location to a safer location — possibly back to the location near Kuakini Highway or at the Mormon church.
Souza said they are working to move the stop, but it will take some time. This includes several dry runs of potential routes to check for safety, he said. The transportation department and Roberts Hawaii, the contractor, are at work already, he said.
For the time being the school has worked with police to sweep the area during times students are present. A vice principal will also be in the area during those times, Souza said.
This shows how effective a community can be when they encounter a problem, Souza said.