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Resident urges action as Royal Avenue blocked during high school pickup; police and council seek school partnership
Summary
A Royal Avenue resident told the MSFI committee parents' vehicles regularly block the road and driveways during high school pickup. The police described existing no‑parking ordinances but said school time changes and school practices complicate enforcement; committee voted to give staff time to coordinate with the school district.
A Royal Avenue resident told the Municipal Services, Facilities & Infrastructure Committee that daily high school pickup routinely leaves both sides of her street filled with cars, blocking her driveway and sometimes preventing passage for emergency or neighbor vehicles.
"I've had to wait one time for 20 minutes to get to my own house," Britney Williams said, describing repeated incidents in which parents park on both sides of the street to wait for student pickup.
Captain Steve Tenny of the police department told the committee that the city already maintains parking ordinances covering portions of the neighborhood — including a no‑parking rule from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. on school days — but that recent changes to high school release times and increased parental pickup have created gaps the ordinances do not cover. "When these ordinances were made, high school students park there, parents park there for games," Tenny said, adding that enforcement tends to push the problem elsewhere if parking restrictions are tightened.
Councilors urged staff to meet with the high school, SAU 29 administrators and parent groups to craft a pickup plan that creates a timeline and direction for parents and uses school staff to manage flow, rather than relying solely on police enforcement. A motion to place the communication on more time so staff can initiate discussions with the school district passed unanimously.
What happens next: staff will coordinate with police, school officials and the PTA on possible timeline adjustments, signage and enforcement options and report back to the committee.
