“There is a lot of traffic and drivers are going fast. In addition, there is no sidewalk and around fifty children wait 1.20m apart. We are worried about their safety!” says a mother. Since Monday, the children of Bottens (VD), schooled in Poliez-Pittet and Echallens, have had to wait for the PostBus on the cantonal road. While, the same week, a 10-year-old child lost his life when hit by a bus in Forel, the location of this new stop arouses fear among the parents of these students, aged 8 to 15. “The town put a flower pot and two posts to demarcate the stop. It’s not safe! They don’t think, the children play, heckle and push each other!” laments the mother.
As part of the restructuring of Gros-de-Vaud, and at the request of the Canton, CarPostal has extended line 670, which leaves from Yverdon-les-Bains, to Froideville. But the appropriate articulated bus cannot maneuver at the pre-existing Croisée stop in Bottens, although it is still used by the TL, explains the public transport company. This is why a temporary stop has been set up on the Froideville road.
François Allaz, father of an 8-year-old boy, is fighting for the location to be reviewed. He has contacted all the stakeholders, but for the moment, his efforts remain in vain. “Between CarPostal, the municipality and the Canton, it is still not clear who should do what in terms of security,” regrets this municipal councilor. Last Friday, he launched a petition. From some 1,300 residents, around a hundred signatures were collected in one weekend. The citizen wants to send it to all those involved in the matter this Friday.
The municipality of Bottens, responsible for the development of the stop, reports having received numerous complaints from parents of schoolchildren concerned. The temporary bus stop will remain “until a more permanent solution is found”. However, the Municipality is currently studying other location possibilities.
The project has not been investigated
For its part, the General Directorate of Mobility and Roads (DGMR) declares that the Municipality has made various arrangements to signal the stop and encourage a reduction in speed. But “these being provisional, the project was not the subject of an investigation and the Canton was therefore not able to verify its conformity and legality within the framework of the cantonal notice”. The DGMR adds that it cannot comment further on “this provisional development, under municipal jurisdiction, and the implementation of which it has not monitored”.
