“The way to school to Schongau is definitely not without danger”: Parents of bus children from Altenstadt are appalled and write to the district administrator.
There is also a lack of understanding with Mayor Andreas Kögl.
He makes a proposal to the ward council today.
Schongau
- A mother from Altenstadt contacted the Schongauer Nachrichten shortly before the start of the school year. She defended herself against the decision of the school transport department in the district office that from this school year she would have to pay for the bus ticket for her younger son, who is attending secondary school in Schongau. As reported, the way to school was re-assessed and instead of “particularly difficult and dangerous” it was classified as reasonable for the children. Therefore, all younger children from Altenstadt who attend middle school, secondary school or high school in Schongau and live less than three kilometers away are no longer free of charge. From the 7th grade onwards, grandfathering applies, these students continue to travel for free.
What the barrel overflowed for Altenstadt parents: There is not just a single complaint, as the district office had indicated.
Matthias Leckel knows that the issue is being completely downplayed, 26 negative notices were sent, and appeals were lodged against seven.
The family teamed up with other people affected from the neighborhood and wrote a letter to District Administrator Andrea Jochner-Weiß, in which they once again clearly pointed out the danger of the way to school.
"That is the cheek of the whole story that nothing has been structurally changed on the way to school," said the Altenstadter.
The Köllenweg, for example, has neither a sidewalk nor lighting.
Crossings are dangerous
The most dangerous thing about the way to school is certainly not the footpaths, but the extremely wide intersecting streets - Sonnenstrasse, the entrance to Netto, southern Keltenstrasse and Schönlinderstrasse.
“These streets are extremely busy when our children go to school,” said the parents.
"We are not all overmothers or helicopter parents, but the way to school is dangerous," emphasizes Steffi Deschler.
The woman from Altenstadt mentions another aspect: "It is also a serious financial burden, especially when you have several children."
Mayor Kögl can understand the parents' concerns well
Mayor Andreas Kögl also shakes his head, who of course knows the parents' concerns and can understand them well. "I found it difficult to understand why a new appraisal was needed for a dangerous route on which nothing has changed," said Kögl. His efforts during a second inspection in winter - "unfortunately there was a full moon that lit up the street well" - did not change anything. At least one was able to agree on a transitional arrangement of one year (school year 2020/2021) and grandfathering, just a small consolation. "Unfortunately, the three-kilometer limit goes right through the town," said Kögl. It can happen that if there are two children living within sight, one of them gets the ticket and the other does not.Tonight, the Altenstadt municipal council will deal with the topic (the meeting starts at 7.30 p.m.), because Kögl has considered whether the bus ticket could not be subsidized financially in order to create justice. “And after all, we want to promote local public transport and not the parents' taxis with Kiss & Ride or Bussispur,” the mayor makes clear. Of course, you can't take over the ticket completely, but you might have a share.
Expert opinion is the crux of the matter
The district office confirms the number of those affected and the contradictions received when asked by SN.
In a letter to the parents, however, it says that all contradictions have been withdrawn, the notices are thus final.
For reasons of equality with other students, they see no possibility of paying for the transport costs.
As the crux of the matter, the parents see the old report, which they do not have, but which they have now requested.
Klaus Riedl, who was on site as a traffic employee at the police in Schongau, cannot, in retrospect, say why his predecessor came to the conclusion that it was “particularly difficult and dangerous”.
Today he sees neither a “criminogenic danger” in this way to school, nor does the traffic accident statistics reveal any danger.
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