CC PACKET 07222014 Wilshire Park SRTS Plan

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Car Parent drop-off is permitted in the bus loop on the east side of the building before bus drop-off hours. Otherwise drop-off occurs in the combined staff parking lot/parent loop on the north side of the building. According to the school official who assists during pick-up and drop-off, the process can be chaotic, with as many as 60-70 cars pass through within 10-15 minutes during drop-off. Drop-off is usually more hectic than pick-up in the afternoon. Parents are supposed to drop students off in the right lane at one of two designated areas without parked cars where an opening to the sidewalk is available. However, this does not always happen. An official reported that some students are dropped off in the left lane and then cut across the right lane of traffic. These drop-off areas are difficult to see. School officials report that in addition to parent and student education, there needs to be clearly marked drop-off and bypass lanes, possibly with painted lanes and arrows on the pavement. The school includes educational information in parent newsletters, but improvements to traffic flow are only temporary. Traffic sometimes becomes so congested that it backs up onto 37th Avenue NE. Staff usually park on the south side of the parking lot closest to the school, while some parents pull into spaces on the north side of the parking lot and walk their students across the two lanes of traffic into school. Additionally, a sign that reads "No parking or stopping in the left lane - through traffic only" is posted at the end of the parking lot/drop-off area, but is not very visible from the parking lot entry. Some parents drop students off in the church parking lot to the west/southwest and students walk from there. Drop- off in the church lot is less common in the winter due to the stairs and hill. Additionally, parents were observed dropping students off along the east side of Highcrest Road. Some parents parked and exited the vehicle to walk their students to the front entrance, and some did not. Several students and parents walked to the marked crossing where student safety patrols were present near the bus loop exit. Other students cut across Highcrest Road in unmarked areas. There is no sidewalk on the east side of Highcrest Road, so students and parents often walk on the grass. 14 1 Wilshire Park Elementary School Safe Routes to School Plan Single-family residential land uses exist along Highcrest Road and the area south of the school.