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Board to consider design and bidding for Cornwall Elementary dismissal loop to ease congestion
Summary
School leaders proposed a redesign of Cornwall Elementary’s dismissal pattern using an expanded loop off Route 419 and a paved path around the field to hold about 65–70 cars. The board will be asked next week to authorize Steckbeck Engineering to prepare design documents and to go out to bid; funding is planned from the capital reserve fund.
District staff presented a proposal to change Cornwall Elementary’s car‑pickup pattern to reduce off‑site backups and to separate bus and car traffic.
Under the plan, traffic would again enter from Route 419 into an expanded gravel lot adjacent to the school, a walking path that encircles the athletic field would be widened and paved, and the loop would be reconnected to existing sidewalks. Staff estimated the loop could hold roughly 65 to 70 vehicles off the road and said the design would keep cars away from Berg Coleman and separate bus circulation. The presentation said the improvement would reduce curbside backups on local streets and avoid having cars queue along heavily trafficked approaches to the school.
District staff asked the board to authorize Steckbeck Engineering as the design team so the project documents could be completed promptly; the administration plans to advertise for bids with a base bid (paving the path) and an alternate (paving the gravel lot). Staff emphasized the construction window is time‑sensitive because paving contractors stop producing asphalt as winter approaches. The administration said it plans to use the district’s capital reserve fund to cover the work if the bids are acceptable.
Board discussion touched on traffic control at the Route 419 access and coordination with Cornwall Borough Police; staff said the borough has cooperated on recent dismissal operations and that one or more officers have been deployed for busy days. Board members also asked staff to consider traffic interactions with nearby institutions and ongoing local construction; district administrators said they will pursue additional meetings and look at timelines and resources for a possible new exit behind the middle school that was discussed as part of broader campus circulation planning.
No vote occurred at the meeting. The district said a motion to authorize Steckbeck Engineering and to go to bid will be placed on next week’s agenda for formal action.
