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Council hears safety concerns about school pickup congestion; police to monitor, engineering options discussed
Summary
Council members and police discussed chronic school pickup congestion that creates backups and risky passing behavior; no immediate infrastructure change was ordered, though options including signage, one-way circulation and possible turn lanes were mentioned and staff said they would explore low-cost mitigations.
Council members raised recurring safety concerns about school pickup and drop-off patterns that lead to long vehicle queues and dangerous passing behavior on a hill near the high school and activity entrances.
Councilmember Ryan and others described vehicles lining up as early as 3:15 p.m., causing backups on the street; officials noted that construction parking and routing near the hospital and school remodel have increased traffic. Chief Adams said police have not recorded accidents related to the pickup activity but affirmed the department will monitor the situation.
Options discussed included temporary signage ("no passing" zones), one-way traffic patterns around the school pickup area, relocation of sidewalks and a potential additional turn lane—though council members cautioned those changes could be costly and may require right-of-way or sidewalk relocation. Council asked staff to further evaluate feasible measures and to report back; no formal motion to change traffic patterns was made at the meeting.
Councilmembers emphasized outreach and measurement before committing to expensive engineering work: short-term signage and increased enforcement were discussed as initial steps while staff assesses whether more substantive roadway changes are feasible.
