Published: August 23, 2008 03:24 pm      

Coleman has new traffic loop

The opening of a traffic loop around Coleman Elementary, constructed during the summer, will coincide with new student drop off and pick-up procedures and staggered dismissal times at the campus.

Starting Monday, vehicles must enter the campus from Featherston Street and exit onto Westhill Drive. All bus students will be loaded and unloaded at the front of the school.

“The whole premise behind this was to take kids off Westhill because it has become such a busy thoroughfare,” said Principal Kyle Boles. “It has become a huge safety concern, and the loop will remedy this problem.”

Parents attending Coleman’s Meet the Teacher event Thursday afternoon were provided with maps and the school’s new traffic procedures. Parents were also given numbered tags to hang from the mirrors of their vehicles, which will be used during the rush often associated with the afternoon pick up of students.

“We want this to be as smooth as possible for parents and we will have plenty of staff on hand on the first day of school and throughout the year to help with this new system,” said Assistant Principal Karen Snyder, who was among the Coleman staff who worked on the development of the new traffic procedures. “We want it to be efficient in terms of time, while keeping kids’ safety in mind.”



Dismissal times

In addition to the new traffic pattern for the campus, staggered grade level dismissal times for “car-riders” are also being implemented.

Coleman pre-kindergarten students will be dismissed at 2:45 p.m., followed by kindergarten and first graders at 3 p.m. Grades 2 and 3 will dismiss at 3:15 p.m. with the school day ending at 3:30 p.m. for fourth and fifth graders.

Families with more than one student at the campus should use the designated release time for their oldest child in picking up their children, or parents may opt for making additional trips to the school.

“Younger siblings will be under teacher supervision until their older siblings’ release time,” Boles said. “Our families will hopefully communicate with us as to what they prefer, and we will do our best to make it work for them.”

Parents wishing to walk their children to class during those first few mornings of the new school year will be directed to designated parking areas located on the east side of the campus.

“After the first week, we will be asking parents to utilize the new drop-off procedures,” Snyder said.

During Coleman’s morning rush hour, campus traffic entering the loop will be directed to the lane closest to the building as they move to the drop-ff area located on the east side of the school near the outdoor amphitheatre, where staff will be on hand to open car doors, greet students and assist them from their cars.

Students will enter the building through the second and third grade hallway. Coleman students arriving before 7:50 a.m. will be directed to the cafeteria. Those coming to school closer to 8 a.m. should report to their classrooms.

“Using only one entrance to the building for our ‘car riders’ will provide us with a better ability to monitor, to be there for our kids,” Boles said.

During Pre-K pick up in the afternoon, the lane closest to the school will be used. All three lanes will be utilized during dismissal times for grades K-5.

“We will be using the numbered car tags, which we will be providing to families, in calling students to stations for pick-up,” Snyder said. “We believe we’ve come up with an efficient system for our dismissal procedures. We’ve tried to look at it from every angle we could in trying to work out the kinks.”

“But we really need parents to come to school at the correct times coinciding with the grade-level dismissal of their child,” Snyder said. “If that happens, there should be little or no waiting. Parents reporting early will be asked to move on to the parking area until their allotted time for pick-up. We will be doing this because we just don’t want to tie up the lines.”

Students who walk or ride their bikes to school will be dismissed at 3:30 p.m. immediately after bus riders are loaded and buses have departed from the campus. School crossing guards will be posted at the crosswalks at Westhill and Featherston to assist students.



Loop closed during school

During the school day, the traffic loop will not be accessible as the area will be used for P.E. and during recess. Traffic cones and barriers will be used to insure the area is not entered.

Parents picking up their children during the school day because of illness or dental appointments, etc. will be able to park in the front of the school, where a limited number of spaces will be available for short-term use.

“We want to make parking convenient for parents in cases such as these,” Boles said. “But the front area cannot be used after 2:30 p.m. because it turns into a bus zone at that point.”

Boles and his staff think their effort to address safety concerns at their campus is also good news for parents.

“We are proud of this project and pleased to be able to provide a safe alternative,” he said. “We think it is a good system, although we do welcome suggestions. We hope anyone with questions will call us. It is something new and we will be more than happy to discuss it.”

“We really want and appreciate our parents’ cooperation with these new procedures,” Boles said. “It’s for student safety. We think the loop is a huge improvement to our school environment. It was very nicely done and we are really pleased with how it looks.”

“Our priority, in constructing the loop and developing new traffic procedures, was safety for kids. We want what is best for kids.”