School board approves temporary bus stops for 15 students at hazardous Highway 69 crossing

The Albert Lea School Board voted to temporarily provide bus transportation for students living west of State Highway 69 who currently walk across a four-lane, 45 mph stretch near West Front Street and the YMCA.

District staff presented the site as one previously identified in a 2018 Safe Routes to School review and described repeated safety concerns: high traffic volume, truck traffic, visibility problems and a nearby intersection with a recent fatality. Paul Durban, who presented the matter to the board, said MnDOT and county emergency-management officials reviewed the location and recommended additional study and interim measures.

Durban told the board the neighborhood includes 15 elementary students — 10 of whom are in grades K through 2 — and two Southwest Middle School students. He said the district requested a temporary solution while MnDOT studies and proposes longer-term fixes: “So the ask this evening, is to temporarily provide transportation services to and from Southwest Middle School and Sibley Elementary, to students residing in the neighborhood bound by State Highway 69… Wedgwood Road and West Front Street extended to the west of Highway 69.”

Durban said MnDOT advised a two-year window for study and interim steps, including installing cameras in October to capture traffic patterns during school arrival and dismissal. He gave a district cost estimate for hazard-zone bus transportation of $4,764 for the 15 students and said the district would not need a crossing guard at that location during the same period, saving an estimated $8,212.

Board members debated whether to retain a crossing guard while the transportation arrangement is in place. One board member urged retaining guards given the long‑standing concerns and local knowledge of the intersection’s danger. Durban noted that MnDOT suggested that continued on-the-ground management could require up to three crossing guards to safely handle pedestrian movement across both sides of the divided highway during peak times.

Board members also asked how the service would be implemented. Durban said the students would be added to an existing route; the district would not launch a separate route for these riders. He said Albert Lea Bus — the district’s contracted carrier — will notify families and that district staff will follow up directly with parents who raised concerns.

Director Schindler asked about liability implications if students who were offered transportation still chose to walk; Durban said that scenario would be handled the same as other walk-zone choices, and he emphasized that the district has had “foreseeability of risk” at the location since 2018.

After discussion, a motion to offer temporary transportation for up to two years passed on a voice vote. District staff said they will track use of the service, coordinate with MnDOT’s study and report back to the board; if families decline the service, the district will not be charged for unused riders.