LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A major side effect of the transportation issues for Jefferson County Public Schools is carpool lines stretching for blocks in neighborhoods across Louisville.
Deering Road is the only way parents can access Medora Elementary School in south Jefferson County.
"Most of the day, I'm sitting, waiting in line," said parent Catrina Gagel.
The first cars picking up students arrive an hour before the final bell.
"People are trying to turn and cars are all the way down there," Gagel said. "They have to come down the wrong way of the road just to get in."
The long carpool lines at schools across Louisville caught the attention of Metro Council.
"Fix the problem, and stop clogging up the streets," Councilman Jeff Hudson, R-District 23, said during a Council meeting Thursday evening.
But Dr. Rob Fulk, JCPS' Chief Operations officer, said fixing the traffic problem is not that simple.
"The Kentucky constitution is clear," Fulk told Metro Council. "Outside of the bounds of the school, that is your (Metro) authority."
JCPS officials said fewer bus drivers and cut routes mean more adults are crowding the pickup lines, which stretch onto Metro streets.
"If a parent shows up early, and we have seen some parents show up an hour or more early every day, we have limited options to fix that," said Fulk.
Councilman Scott Reed, R-District 16, told JCPS they have not done enough to ease congestion at Norton Elementary School.
"This is a JCPS problem," said Reed.
Councilwoman Madonna Flood, D-District 24, added that the circle drive at Southern High School is too small and outdated.
"I'm also trying to fix 80 years of bad traffic patterns and buildings that have been constructed," Fulk said.
Fulk stressed some of the off-campus congestion relief will require city cooperation, but that the district will do what it can on school campuses. He said they have issued emergency declarations at four schools that had specific issues, and will have paving crews out soon.
"Is it fair to say that you are committed to deploying whatever resources that are possible to maximize capacity within the four corners of your property to alleviate the issue?" Council President Markus Winkler, D-District 17, asked Fulk, who responded "Yes."
Brent Ackerson, D-District 26, said the reality of the situation is the Metro Government and JCPS have to be partners in this situation and have to meet in the middle.
One solution could be coming to Medora Elementary. JCPS has submitted a proposal to build a separate car-rider lane, which would fit more than 130 cars.
Fulk says as they work with other schools to relieve congestion, JCPS is facing another challenge: more bus drivers are projected to retire after this school year, leaving the district with even fewer.
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