SAUGUS Vol. 24, No. 36 -FREETh e Advocate–A household word in Saugus! OC C www.advocatenews.net Traffi c troubles Two School Committee members offer their take on Day One transportation woes parents encountered – and how the district and parents can improve the situation By Mark E. Vogler S chool Committee Chair Thomas R. Whittredge had warned in interviews and social media posts that he didn’t expect a smooth fi rst day of bus transportation for Saugus Public School students and their families. “The bus company not having enough drivers to fi ll the routes will really throw a monkey wrench into the traffi c situation at all 3 schools,” Whittredge warned in a Labor Day post Monday morning (Sept. 6). “Traffi c for the fi rst week or so will most likely look like mayhem until everyone gets used to the direction of fl ow at drop off and pick up. Your patience will make a huge diff erence in making it work,” Whittredge said. His predictions were spot on as angry parents fl ooded social media, the Police DepartPublished Every Friday Remembering Saugus Residents Who Perished on 9/11 D O TE CAT 781-233-4446 Friday, September 10, 2021 MAKING THE DROP-OFF: A school bus pulls up to the new Belmonte STEAM Academy on Wednesday (Sept. 8) morning as the new 2021-2022 academic year begins for Saugus Public Schools. For more photos and a related story on the fi rst day school for students at the Belmonte, please see inside. (Saugus Advocate photo by Tara Vocino) ment and newspapers with calls about traffi c congestion which delayed them in town traffi c by as much as an hour after dropping their children off at school on Wednesday – the fi rst day of the 2021-22 academic school year. School Committee members were expected to discuss this week’s transportation troubles at last night’s meeting, as it was on the agenda. But in his follow-up social media post (on School Committee Vice-Chair Ryan Fisher’s School Committee Facebook page), Whittredge confi rmed the trouble he had expected. “Before everyone gets angry, I received several calls, emails and texts about the busses and traffi c,” Whittredge said in a Wednesday post. In addition to acknowledging the school-related traffi c TRAFFIC | SEE PAGE 17 A monument on the Hamilton Street side of Saugus Town Hall pays tribute to Gertrude “Trudi” Alagero and David DiMeglio, who were among the victims in New York City during the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attack on the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center. See inside for story and related photos. (Saugus Advocate photo by Mark E. Vogler) Fill Up & Save! Fall is Coming!
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