The return to class after March Break was thrown into disarray as the Sudbury Student Services Consortium cancelled school buses for the day in Sudbury, citing hazardous road conditions caused by excess snow. Officials are now working on contingency plans to navigate the challenges posed by narrowed streets and limited turning room for large vehicles. Consortium faces ‘massive undertaking’ to assess routes Renée Boucher, the executive director for the consortium, said the organization is methodically evaluating each bus run to determine what is feasible under the current conditions. “We have to individually look at all of those runs and determine, you know, which stops can be done, which stops can be maybe amalgamated with other existing stops,” she siad. “It is a massive undertaking for our group, we’re only 11 here at the consortium.” The consortium typically operates 340 vehicles that complete roughly 1,000 runs daily. However, the accumulation of snow over the break has rendered many neighbourhood roads impassable for the fleet’s large buses. “They wouldn’t be able to make their turns,” Boucher said. “All of our buses are 40 feet in length, and they have a tail swing, and they have a side range that they must have in order to turn or to travel on roads.” City, consortium collaborate on safety solutions Joe Rocca, the director of linear services with the City of Greater Sudbury, said officials are working closely with the consortium to explore creative solutions, such as creating dedicated waiting areas for students. “Part of the conversations we’re having with the consortium right now are, are there opportunities for us to open up areas where kids can wait for buses, in order to, you know, facilitate some different route routing for the school buses.” Rocca added that crews have already taken steps to improve access around area school. “We did open up school zones or areas in front of all schools over the last few days. Those were all completed yesterday,” he said. “We created an area near every school that was a little bit wider.” Boucher noted that while some main roads remain passable, the situation on side streets presents a significant safety hazard. “Pretty much all of the subdivisions of the side roads, we’re down to one lane or one and a half lanes,” she said. “Because of this, there’s no safe spots for the busses to meet another vehicle or even meet pedestrian traffic.” Safety of ‘most precious cargo’ remains top priority Boucher emphasized that the consortium’s decisions are driven solely by safety concerns and she expressed gratitude to families for their understanding. “We transport the most precious cargo so that, you know, our children are very important to everyone and so we need to make sure that we keep them safe.” Parents who spoke with CTV News echoed that sentiment, expressing support for the cancellation as a necessary precaution. “Considering the road conditions, it’s better off if they take some time off, hoping that the roads will be cleared any time soon, and then they can return to the roads,” said one parent. Another parent noted that the disruption, while inconvenient, is a temporary hurdle. “Life presents itself with challenges which are beyond our control and when they come up, you just have to find a way to go about them,” they said. “I think this week or next week, we’ll just find a way to go about it and I’m sure things will pick up, and everything will come back to normal.” Phased return planned as clearing efforts continue Looking ahead, the consortium intends to implement a phased approach to resuming operations. Officials plan to have URides in place for students with special accommodations to travel to school, after which they will begin to look into secondary students’ transportation. Meanwhile, the city will continue its road and sidewalk clearing efforts as the week progresses. Rocca confirmed to CTV News that priorities have shifted to pedestrian infrastructure. “We’ve now shifted into the sidewalk priorities and we should have those done over the next day or so.” In the meantime, the consortium recommends parents download the MTransport app to stay up to date on the latest information regarding bus cancellations and service resumptions.
