Council approves permanent parking changes, weekday time limits near Henry K. Oliver School

The Lawrence City Council voted April 15 to adopt an on-street parking plan for the new Henry K. Oliver School that creates a dedicated student drop-off lane on Oak Street, removes 23 parking spaces on Oak and establishes one accessible parking space on Haverhill Street, along with a raised crosswalk and new signage. Councilors also amended the adopted order to limit the no-parking restriction to weekdays from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The change is intended to reduce pedestrian risk and address an above-average crash rate at the intersections immediately adjacent to the school, the council heard at a public hearing attended by city planners, school officials and the project design team. The council adopted the plan after debate over neighborhood parking loss and enforcement; the revised time window was approved as an amendment and carried on a roll call vote.

Traffic and design rationale

Daniel McCarthy, the city’s planning director, introduced the project team. Wayne Kiefner, the project traffic engineer, said the crash rate at the studied intersections was “way higher” than District and statewide averages, and that the recommended changes — a parent-only drop-off lane on Oak Street and a raised crosswalk on Haverhill Street — were safety-driven.

John Hart, civil engineer for SMMA, described the street changes. “There’s a total of 23 removed on Oak, and then the 1 designated on on Haverhill Street,” Hart said, referring to parking spaces removed to allow a shift in travel lanes for the drop-off lane, two spaces removed for truck/fire access at the Lawrence/Oak corner, and four spaces removed near the school loading area.

Odonis Fernandez (identified in the meeting packet as a school operations official) and Danis Hernandez (chief operating officer, as introduced during discussion) said the design team could not complete door-to-door neighborhood outreach earlier because much of the design work and the traffic study began during the COVID-19 period. Hernandez told the council the school department will commission a follow-up traffic assessment once both the Oliver and Leahy schools are open and normal traffic patterns have returned.

Key provisions and clarifying details

- Drop-off lane and parking: The plan establishes a parent-only drop-off lane on Oak Street that requires removal of parking on portions of Oak; the project team reported removing 23 parking spaces along Oak and setting one accessible space on Haverhill Street.

- Raised crosswalk and school zone: The plan installs a raised crosswalk on Haverhill Street with flashing beacons for pedestrians and school-zone markings; engineers said the combination of the drop-off lane and raised crossing should slow traffic near the school.

- Emergency access: Two parking spaces at the Lawrence/Oak corner were removed specifically to permit fire trucks and other emergency vehicles to make the turn.

- Duration: Project staff and the council characterized the physical changes as permanent but said signage and enforcement would govern the hours of restriction. After debate the council adopted an amendment limiting the daytime no-parking restriction to weekdays, 6 a.m.–5 p.m.; outside those hours the spaces would be available to the public unless further changes are approved.

Council discussion and vote

Councilor LePlante moved adoption of the committee recommendation. Councilor Luzon proposed the time-limited amendment (weekdays, 6 a.m.–5 p.m.), which Councilor LaPlante seconded; the amendment passed on a roll-call vote. The council then adopted the amended plan; the vice president recused from the final roll call and other members voted in favor.

Implementation and follow-up

Officials said the Department of Public Works will place signs and pavement markings after the council order is filed, and that enforcement would be handled by the police department. The school department and the project team committed to revisit traffic conditions after the Oliver and Leahy schools open and to re-engage the neighborhood with updated data and any additional adjustments.

Ending

Councilors who voiced concern about neighborhood parking described the vote as a compromise between safety and parking access, and several members asked the school department and city staff to return with real-world traffic data once classes begin and adjacent construction is complete.