A local Girl Scout Troop held a “petition party” earlier this month as they try to change the school district’s transportation policy.

Members of Barrington Girl Scout Troop 551 are proposing a revision to the transportation policy that would impact every level of school busing in Barrington — they want students in grades K to 5 to have access to bus ridership if they live within a half-mile of their school, and they want middle and high school students to have access to bus transportation if they live within a mile of their school.

Currently, the district only extends bus transportation to K-5 students if they live three-quarters of a mile or farther away from their school, and at least 1.3 miles for the older students. 

Amber Yui helps lead the Girl Scout Troop along with Erin Farrell.

In a recent email to the Barrington Times, Yui wrote that changing the transportation policy could have a positive impact on traffic congestion issues that surface around local schools.

“We read your recent article about the traffic congestion at the high school, and one of many reasons we are petitioning the current transportation policy is to provide more buses to the middle and high schools, which would likely have a significant impact on the traffic congestion as well as safety of the community,” Yui wrote. 

Members of Troop 551 held their petition party inside the Collis Family Gallery at Barrington Public Library.

The Scouts believe that their effort will benefit the community “because it focuses on improving student safety, considers inclement weather, and is mindful of working parent families to encourage public transportation usage and reduce Barrington’s carbon footprint.”