McKinney ISD has updated its list of hazardous routes for the 2026-27 school year.
The McKinney ISD board of trustees approved designating 13 areas as hazardous routes at a May 18 meeting, so that the district can receive funding for providing bus service to students in those areas.
The framework
Students who live within 2 miles of their school campus, also known as the walk zone, are not eligible for bus service, per district documents. However, if the route a student would take to walk to their campus is considered hazardous, the district can receive reimbursement from the state for providing transportation to those students.
A hazardous route is defined as an area “where no walkway is provided and students must walk along or cross a freeway or expressway, an underpass, an overpass or a bridge, an uncontrolled major traffic artery, an industrial or commercial area, or another comparable condition,” district documents state.
Superintendent Shawn Pratt directed the district’s business office to review MISD’s hazardous routes in light of the new school zones that will go into effect in the 2026-27 school year, Assistant Superintendent of Business Operations Dennis Womack said.
Trustees approved the new attendance zones in December following the closing and repurposing of three elementary schools.
Zoom in
The 13 areas that currently meet the hazardous route definition are:
- Walking along or crossing US 75/Central Expressway
- Walking along or crossing US 380/East University Drive
- Walking along or crossing SH 5/McDonald Street
- Walking along or crossing SH 121/Sam Rayburn Tollway
- Walking along or crossing Virginia Parkway east of Jordan Road and west of US 75
- Walking along Collin McKinney Parkway south of Orion McKinney Apartments and north of McKinney Ranch Parkway
- Walking along McKinney Ranch Parkway east of Kathryn Way and west of Quail Wood Drive
- Walking along Craig Drive east of El Lago Apartments and west of Collin McKinney Parkway
- Crossing Lake Forest Drive at Virginia Parkway (for elementary students only)
- Crossing Wilmeth Road, east of Taylor Burk Drive and west of South Hardin Boulevard and including the intersections of Taylor Burk Drive and Wilmeth Road and South Hardin Boulevard and Wilmeth Road (for elementary students only)
- Crossing Trinity Falls Parkway south of Collin County Outer Loop and north of FM 543/Weston Road
- Crossing Olympic Crossing at Sweetwater Cove
- Crossing Parkland Crescent at Sweetwater Cove
The hazardous routes list will change as new developments and sidewalks are built, district documents state.
The takeaway
The district has created a website with all the information parents, guardians and students need to know about hazardous routes for the 2026-27 school year that includes an interactive map and specific details for each campus.
