Dozens of parents in Arlington County, Virginia, are worried their children's bus stop is an accident waiting to happen.
Nearly 100 elementary-age students converge on a single bus stop each day along Columbia Pike, many guided by parents who are worried about their young kids near the busy road.
Neighbors and parents alike want to know why so many students have to catch the bus there. Families say they want a safer solution.
"Where's the safety here? Who's been here to see this? That's what I'd like to know," said Rita Rutsohn, who lives in a building at the bus stop.
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Dozens of feet pound the sidewalks at dawn. In the afternoons, the shuffle is just as bad, and it clogs early rush hour traffic.
Jimako Norris walks his daughter, Jade, to and from the bus stop each day. "It's unnecessarily long to get here," he said of their trek.
With 83 students split across two buses at a single stop, parents say it would make more sense to have multiple stops for fewer kids, who then wouldn't have to walk so far from their homes.
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"I would rather deal with the congestion on 10th Street than to deal with it here," Norris said.
But he said he has to walk Jade because she's too young to navigate such a busy road alone.
Neighbors are taking notice, too. Sylvia Henry lives in the building where the bus stops.
"It's just been chaos; we've seen children almost hit by cars, coming in and out," she said. "One of the fire marshals came and said, 'This is an accident waiting to happen'."
She's started a petition for neighbors and parents to ask Arlington Public Schools "to help change the pickup and drop-off point," saying the current situation is "unsafe."
"Why do our children have to walk up here? And stand out here on the Pike. Traffic is backed up. We've had ambulances come. They can't get by," Henry said. "It's an accident waiting to happen."
The bus stop is the only one for another four blocks in any direction.
A spokesperson with the school district says it's the safest location but encourages families who have concerns to reach out to the school district's transportation department.
With about a hundred people waiting here twice daily, drivers also need to be mindful, especially as it gets darker each morning.
