Traffic near D49 schools is backed up due to parents driving their kids to and from school.
/ FOX21: Mike Duran
EL PASO COUNTY, COLO. -- Just three days into the new school year, and Falcon School District 49 has a serious problem: congestion.
Cars are parked on both sides of the road, lining up almost one mile long.
The traffic is so bad the school district has the El Paso County Sheriff's Office working traffic control.
"It's very shocking. Buses can't even get in the parking lot to get the kids. It's pretty shocking that this is what the alternative was to not having buses," Reece Conway, Falcon Middle School parent, said.
After saving the bus system by getting parents to pay $1 each time their children ride the bus, many are opting out of the system.
So, there are more parents driving their kids to and from school.
"We're confident that this will smooth out through the school year, but there are definitely some things that need to be addressed because of a change in the bus program," Stephanie Meredith, Falcon School District 49 Communications Specialist, said.
One of the first things the school district said they're going to do is eliminate bus stops that aren't being used.
They are also looking into changing bus times so they don't interfere with parents picking up their kids.
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