Residents of Legacy Farms North will not have a remedy for their school bus issue this school year, but thanks to support from the voters who stayed for Article 6 at Special Town Meeting on Dec. 6, a solution might be in place by next year.

Legacy Farms North (LFN) resident Ravi Gorti presented the case for his neighbors, explaining that because Legacy Farms North Road is a private road, school buses will not travel on it due to liability issues. This means LFN schoolchildren must walk or be driven to the end of the development in order to access the bus.

On a typical morning, Gorti explained, about 33 cars line up at the corner of Legacy Farms Road North and Frankland Road on one side, or Legacy Farms Road North and Wilson Street on the other side. There are no parking spots and no shoulder, and traffic speeds by as the road is a cut-through from Route 135 to Route 85. It the winter it’s even more treacherous as the snowbanks cut down on visibility.

Developer Roy MacDowell has attempted to work with the residents and the town to find a solution, but the options were not workable for a variety of reasons.

So the residents pushed for the town to accept the street as a public road, even though the development is not completed. After some debate, and assurances from MacDowell that he would not abandon his responsibilities if the road was accepted early, the Planning Board and Select Board supported the idea.

At Special Town Meeting, residents — at least those who stayed past 11 p.m. for the final article of the night — supported the proposal unanimously (by a voice vote). This means the developer and town will continue to work together to have the road ready to be accepted, then it will need to be approved via another vote at the Annual Town Meeting in May.

“I so appreciate the voters’ understanding and support in problem-solving this unique situation for LFN, so we as a town can address the problem effectively and as soon as practicable,” Planning Board chair Muriel Kramer stated via email the day after the vote. “Additionally, I and others on the Planning Board truly appreciate the Select Board, School Committee and other town boards/committees working collaboratively to pursue the best possible solution for the families and the town. It was great work by the parents that made this possible; I continue to appreciate their patience and perseverance. This hasn’t been easy for them.”