Consultants recommend extended drop‑off lanes, raised medians and staggered bells to ease school traffic

Consultants from AKS Architects and traffic engineer Tyler Smith gave a site circulation analysis for three district schools and proposed a mix of near‑term operational fixes and longer‑term design alternatives.

Tyler said Baton Elementary's constrained 300‑foot drop‑off and single access cause morning and afternoon queuing and unsafe pedestrian crossings. Recommended changes included converting parking to 60° or 90° layouts, extending the drop‑off area by roughly 225 feet, and striping a two‑lane drop‑off with an inside bypass lane so short stops do not block the queue. One schematic showed on‑site parking would decline from about 149 to 108 spaces to accommodate a widened and safer circulation pattern.

At Red Mountain Middle the team observed internal bypassing and merge conflicts; recommendations included extending the drop‑off area (about 400 feet additional queue capacity), constructing raised medians to prevent cutting the line, restriping to angled parking and gating a visitor lot to limit bypassing during pickup. The proposed restriping would reduce spaces from about 207 to 191.

Deming Intermediate showed the most severe external spillback onto Paris Street and Hermonus Grade, with queue lengths the consultants reported up to 875 feet and buses having difficulty entering and exiting. Proposals included widening access points, creating separate left/right turn lanes, exploring a continuous right‑turn lane at the Paris/Hermonus intersection (which may require NM DOT approval), and adding two dedicated internal queuing lanes to double on‑site storage capacity.

Consultants recommended a phased approach: Phase 1 of operational improvements (staggered bell times, improved parent communication and targeted staff traffic control), Phase 2 selection of preferred alternatives, Phase 3 funding and design, and Phase 4 full engineering and stakeholder coordination. They cautioned the concepts are schematic and need survey work and coordination with NM DOT and utility providers.

Board members asked about leaving certain access points available for future use; consultants suggested gated emergency access could preserve options while limiting daily circulation conflicts. No formal design decisions or construction funding were approved at the meeting; staff asked the board to prioritize alternatives for design funding consideration.