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New Lake Elmo Elementary School & Oak-Land Middle School August 1, 2024 Transportation Study Page 27 Parent Pick-up/Drop-off Storage A review of the existing and proposed parent pick-up/drop-off storage was completed to identify any issues and recommend potential improvements to limit any impacts to the adjacent roadway network. Oak-Land Middle School As mentioned previously, field observations were performed at the Oak-Land Middle School to identify any access, circulation, and/or parent pick-up/drop-off issues. Observations indicated that internal queueing extended onto Manning Avenue but generally remained within the turn lane storage at the Manning Avenue/Oak-Land Middle School south access intersection. From the main building access, there is approximately 750 feet of single-lane internal queueing storage provided on-site, and approximately 1,200 feet of queues were observed. Projecting forward with the anticipated enrollment increases, approximately 375 feet of additional storage may be required in the future to accommodate increased demand. With the future enrollment, parent pick-up/drop-off queues are expected to extend beyond turn lanes, which may cause friction and additional conflict points along Manning Avenue. Therefore, the following considerations are provided to help increase vehicular storage on-site, which are summarized below and illustrated in Figure 12. It should be noted that there is limited flexibility to improve on-site storage for the site given the existing building footprint/access and the Manning Avenue intersection location. 1. Consider implementing a dual-lane entry within the parking lot to provide an additional 500 feet of on-site storage. This configuration allows vehicles to queue in two lanes before merging into a single lane prior to the parent pick-up/drop-off area. The strategy could be accomplished through the use of daily cones, signage, pavement markings, and/or direct communication with parents. It is important to note that this strategy will utilize the full width of the drive isle, which may limit parking and/or maneuvering the parking lot for staff and other users. Additionally, the merge point may present a learning curve for some parents, and initial implementation may require support from the school resource officer. Note this strategy will not alleviate queueing onto Manning Avenue but is expected to maintain queueing within the turn lane storage, similar to what was observed under existing conditions. 2. If feasible, consider providing an additional building access for students on the south side of the building. During observations, it was noted that despite signage, parents did not pull up past the main school entrance, resulting in 170 feet of on-site queuing storage being underutilized. Introducing a south-side access point would encourage parents to utilize this additional storage effectively. 3. Other strategies, such as implementing staggered pick-up/drop-off times for different grades or classes could be considered if issues arise.