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Mechanicsburg Area SD recommends $12,000 engineering study to address parking and arrival/dismissal at Upper Allen campus
Summary
District staff recommended hiring KCI, a national engineering firm with a local office, to study traffic circulation, parking and arrival/dismissal at the Upper Allen campus; the study was described as roughly $12,000 with a tentative Nov appointment and January analysis.
District administrators on Oct. 28 proposed engaging an engineering firm to evaluate chronic parking, traffic and arrival/dismissal issues at the Upper Allen campus (Middle School, Upper Allen Elementary and Shepardstown Elementary).
Facilities staff said campus growth and changes in operations have led to bus/car conflicts, staff parking strain and occasional vehicle backups onto Market Street. The board heard that the lack of a turf soccer field recently forced the girls soccer team to play a district semifinal at a different site, an example staff cited to show operational impacts of facilities decisions.
Staff recommended KCI — a national firm with a Mechanicsburg office and prior local municipal and school experience — to perform a site study. Administrators outlined a tentative timeline: appoint the engineer in November, conduct analysis through January, develop solutions between January and March, put work out to bid in April and potentially undertake construction in the summer if needed. Staff said the study contract would be “just over $12,000.”
Board members discussed whether changes would trigger conservation-district or township review (acreage thresholds were raised), noted the potential to improve flow by reconfiguring existing blacktop or changing arrival/dismissal procedures rather than large-scale construction, and asked that the consultant examine campus-wide interconnections because changes at the middle school affect the two elementary schools.
Administrators said staff will bring the engineer appointment to the board for approval in November. The study is intended to identify whether process adjustments or modest site improvements could address backups and parking shortfalls.
