'It's scary': Roundup families speak out about bus stop on Highway 87

Roundup families are speaking out about the loss of a school bus stop located on Highway 87 about 20 miles outside of town.

The bus stop, which was located on the highway between Old Divide and Tumbleweed Road, had been in place for nearly 15 years.

After multiple traffic incidents and safety concerns, the school district removed the stop for this school year.

For families in the area, it's a change that is disappointing but easy to understand.

"It's always been a fear because, like I said, it's been happening more often," said concerned parent Anna Morlock of accidents on the highway. "Not only does it happen at our spot but it happens at others as well."

Morlock is one of the families that benefited from the old bus stop, which came right to their driveway. Another mother living nearby, Tiffany Henneberry, said it's an area that's been dangerous for quite some time.

"I lived out here long enough that I used to take that exact bus to school," Henneberry said. "As you can honestly see behind me, there's a huge blind spot and they do whatever they want for the speed limit."

The blind spot Henneberry was referring to was a wide sweeping turn just up the road from where the old bus stop was. That, along with some reckless driving, created close calls when the bus was picking up students.

"For a school bus to be coming by here and for people to not be paying attention around those corners, it's quite scary," said Morlock.

Those same fears are felt by Roundup Schools Superintendent Josiah Mayfield.

"The main issue is that coming from the south, there's almost a blind turn," Mayfield said. "It gives them a very short warning window if they don't know the bus is there to slow down and stop."

Those reasons were why Mayfield opted to remove that stop from the bus schedule this year. Instead, there's a different bus stop for the families to use 200 yards up the road toward the town.

That might seem like a fair trade off, but the families said their children are forced to walk to the bus along the shoulder of the highway because of the steep hill below the road.

"It's just not safe," Morlock said. "It's really not safe being that close to the highway."

Their safety concerns are heightened when discussing what the road conditions will look like in the winter.

"With the shoulder eliminated, that puts everyone in a bad situation," said Hennenberry. "If they could walk on the grass during the winter, we say it wouldn't be so dangerous."

Mayfield said he is in conversation with the Montana Department of Transportation discussing what options they might have to add the bus stop back. He said it would take approval on their end of better signage before the turn on the highway that's causing the problem.

"If we can get a sign in to place that seems feasible, then we'll explore bringing that stop back," Mayfield said. "I'm not fully convinced, though, that even with a lighted sign that stop would be safe."

His anxiousness was also felt by the families, who said they are desperate for something to change.

"It doesn't matter if we put a sign up there. We're still going to have calls of people blowing by the bus," Hennenberry said.

"There is already a sign down there, but it doesn't really help," Morlock said. "I really just want people to be more aware on the highway in general."