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School committee urges city action on pickup/drop-off congestion, proposes short-term enforcement and planning
Summary
Committee members at the March 24 subcommittee hearing described congested school pickup zones, blocked driveways, and limited crossing guards and school police; they asked the superintendent to convene DPW, police and traffic officials and recommended short-term deployments to observe and fix problem sites.
Committee members told the Brockton Public Schools Security, Safety and Transportation Subcommittee on March 24 that pickup and drop-off congestion at multiple schools has become an urgent safety concern.
"It's an accident waiting to happen," one committee member said, describing parents parking in restricted areas, children crossing between lanes and blocked driveways that can prevent emergency access.
Members reported repeated complaints from families and neighborhoods about cars parking on lawns or in no-parking zones, parents who fail to use established pickup lines, and routine congestion during school hours. Several members urged the district to work with city agencies to increase short-term on-site enforcement (temporary parking/traffic enforcement officers), review crossing-guard coverage, and deploy school police or city police at problem sites during peak dismissal times.
Why it matters: Members said congested, poorly controlled pickup zones can delay emergency vehicles, increase the chance of pedestrian injuries, and reduce timely school arrival for students with special needs.
Suggested actions
- Convene city traffic, DPW and police leadership with the superintendent and transportation staff to produce a short-term operational plan.
- Pilot targeted deployments (members suggested a 30-minute observation window around 3:00 p.m.) to document problems and test enforcement or traffic-flow changes.
- Consider temporary parking-enforcement officers or redirected city personnel to write citations or tow repeat violators in the most dangerous locations.
Members also recommended low-cost operational fixes at certain sites: adjusting pickup windows (a few extra minutes after buses leave), changing ingress/egress patterns for schools with single driveways, and refreshing signage or school-zone blinking lights where roadway geometry creates blind spots.
Next steps
The chair agreed to work with city officials to schedule a meeting with DPW, the traffic commission and police to identify immediate mitigations and a timeline to bring back recommendations to the committee. The subcommittee did not vote on specific parking or enforcement measures at the meeting but emphasized urgency and requested a follow-up session with city partners.
