Lake Forest annual school review recommends curbside no‑stopping zones and school‑bus areas at two schools

Lake Forest traffic staff presented the city’s annual school review at the Aug. 4 Traffic and Parking Commission meeting and identified focused measures for two elementary schools to improve morning and afternoon circulation.

Tran Tran, traffic engineering manager, said staff sent letters to all 11 schools that operate within the city and received four responses from school administrators. “Out of all the schools we visited and considered…staff identified opportunities at two schools. One is Foothill Ranch Elementary School and the other at Olivewood Elementary School,” Tran said.

At Foothill Ranch, staff reported queuing and parking near a bend on Torino Drive caused drivers to make unsafe movements, including wrong‑way travel, and limited access for delivery trucks and residents. Staff proposed temporary no‑stopping restrictions during school drop‑off and pick‑up hours (about 8 a.m.–9 a.m. and noon–3 p.m.) on the curve to keep the travel lane clear and allow safer queueing. Tran described an additional option to use an underutilized shoulder area near Route Fortuna as a supervised passenger‑loading area about a quarter‑mile from the school to reduce on‑site congestion.

Tran said the city will coordinate education and enforcement with the sheriff’s department, including warnings during the first weeks of school before issuing citations. “We will be working with the sheriff’s department to provide warnings the first couple weeks of school to let them know that we want to educate, versus cite,” Tran said.

At Olivewood Elementary, staff said Saddleback Valley Unified School District notified the city that a nearby school (San Joaquin Elementary) had closed and those students would be bused to Olivewood for the coming academic year. To support busing operations and reduce an anticipated increase in vehicle traffic, staff installed school‑bus‑only signs for school days.

Commissioners asked about metrics used to evaluate schools. Tran said staff check compliance with state standards, signage and high‑visibility crosswalk treatments and use operational observations as a rule of thumb: if school traffic disperses within roughly 15 minutes after dismissal, the flow is generally acceptable. Commissioners also discussed outreach and coordination; Tran said staff meet quarterly with the school district and communicate recommended changes to school administrators by email and in person when needed.

Ending

The commission received and filed the annual school review; staff said it would monitor the two initial changes and return with follow‑up if further adjustments are necessary.