Residents and school staff seek safer school pick-ups; city to review Parkdale intersection
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Summary
A resident urged a formal safety study at Village Parkway & Parkdale Lane after crosswalk upgrades failed to improve safety; school staff reported strong family interest in an Orpheus Park bus pickup and committed to continued surveys and coordination with city traffic staff.
Abigail Brown, a Village Park resident, told city council members and committee attendees that recent crosswalk upgrades at Village Parkway and Parkdale Lane "have not improved safety," describing a crossing environment that forces pedestrians and crossing guards to monitor up to eight lanes of moving traffic. "It is not a matter of if, but when," she said, urging the city and school district to conduct a formal safety analysis and consider traffic-calming measures such as a raised crosswalk, increased patrols and an additional crossing guard.
City and school staff responded that they have been coordinating on traffic and school-bus logistics. The meeting record shows staff received community feedback about a planned pickup at Orpheus Park and reported "really good response from families," with one staff member estimating two-thirds to three-quarters of notified families expressed interest. Staff said they intend a "load-and-go" approach to minimize bus dwell time and to keep existing circulation patterns (parking, underpass use and bike racks) while adding signage or limited, time-based parking restrictions near the curb as needed.
A staff member identified in the discussion as Matt said the Parkdale Lane project received a Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) grant and that traffic staff would visit the intersection to assess conditions. Meeting participants also noted enforcement activity has increased at the site; Brown said patrols have helped but that the blinking lights and painted crosswalks alone have not stopped drivers from running the stop signs.
Why it matters: The intersection is adjacent to school walking routes and, according to Brown, crossing guards have reported near misses. Officials said a coordinated approach — combining traffic engineering, enforcement and school-district outreach — is needed before permanent changes are made.
Next steps and follow-up: Staff committed to sending traffic personnel to review the Parkdale Lane intersection and to maintain an ongoing feedback loop with families about the Orpheus Park pickup. The transcript shows staff plans to continue surveys, to begin outreach with vendors and law enforcement, and to return implementation details to the roundtable as designs and enforcement plans are refined.