When the Scarborough School Department moved forward with centralized bus stops this fall, residents registered a flurry of complaints. But as fall has moved into winter, the complaints have almost completely stopped.

Superintendent Bill Michaud said the district has received just one complaint this winter and there have been no requests to review any bus stops since the fall.

In the fall, adopted a school bus stop policy that said children in kindergarten through fifth grade could walk up to a quarter-mile to the bus stop and children in grades six through 12 could walk up to a half-mile. This policy led to the creation of centralized bus stops in many parts of town where previously busses had been essentially picking-up and dropping-off students at their homes.

As part of the new policy, the district formed a bus stop safety committee to look at bus stops people said were unsafe. The committee made some changes to a few bus stops.

Now that winter has arrived and, although it has been mild thus far, it is likely that snow will eventually cover sidewalks and narrow the roads. If this becomes a safety issue, the district would be willing to make necessary changes until the spring, Michaud said.

One person who is concerned about the safety of her road during the winter is Maureen Verreault of Summerfield Lane. Verreault had registered a complaint earlier with the safety committee, which elected to keep the bus stop at the Summerfield Lane/Serenity Place intersection.

Verreault feels the wintertime provides a new set of circumstances that create a dangerous situation for her child. When two snowstorms covered neighborhood sidewalks last month, the only way to walk to the bus stop was in the road, which Verreault said is unsafe.

“The sidewalks are there for the public use and they should have a safe place to walk,” she said.

Michaud said he investigated the bus stop and the situation there was not unlike other cul-de-sac neighborhoods in town. “I didn’t see anything there that would make me think there should be any change,” he said.

Pam Tevanian, of Serenity Place, drives her child to the bus stop and said the snow banks force children to walk in the road, which she did not want her child doing. “How do you tell your kid to walk in the road,” she asked.

Other parents had similar concerns while waiting for the bus at a stop on Arbor View Road. The school department did change this stop, which was initially at the Portland Farms Road intersection.

While the parents are happy about the change and feel the new stop located toward the other end of the road is safer, some remain concerned about their child’s safety, especially during the winter.

“It’s awful because kids have to walk in the street,” said Kerstin Kirchner, of Arbor View Road

Scarborough School Business Manager Herb Hopkins, a member of the safety committee, said to his understanding the committee is disbanded, and either he or Transportation Director Scott Macomber will handle any future complaints.

Meanwhile, the Town Council’s Ordinance Committee is trying to determine whose responsibility it is to clear sidewalks. Councilor Sylvia Most, chairman of the committee, said the request came from the school committee due to the change in the bus stop policy. At this point she is unsure if the question of sidewalk plowing is addressed in the ordinances. If it is not, the committee will determine if they should be changed.

According to Public Works Director Mike Shaw, there are no town ordinances regarding the plowing of sidewalks. Public Works does contract with an outside company to clear a small amount of sidewalk from Green Acres to Millbrook Road.

A group of children board a bus on Tuesday morning. The school district has received few complaints this winter about the centralized bus stops.