City road project at North & 76 will remove curb cut at Longfellow; committee weighs three access options

District staff briefed the committee on the city's planned reconstruction at the North and 76 Street intersection and described three conceptual alternatives for Longfellow school's drop-off and parking layout.

"If we do nothing, parents will not — there's nowhere for them to pull over," a staff member said while presenting the city's mockup; the city design will remove an existing curb cut and the committee was told the city needs an indication by the end of the calendar year if the district wants to piggyback on the project.

Staff walked committee members through three options: 1) reconfigure the district green space to create a single, ADA-friendly, one-way drop-off that preserves direct access to the main entrance and theater; 2) convert the east-side asphalt footprint to parent access (reducing green space and increasing staffing needs to escort visitors); and 3) a north-side alternative that is closest to a "do-nothing" baseline but still reduces some green space. Committee members and staff discussed pros and cons, including parking counts, ADA routing, staffing to escort visitors if access shifts, potential impacts on after-school events and the possibility of folding costs into a secondary referendum.

Staff said Option 1 would be the district's recommended conceptual approach because it preserves direct access and ADA routes, but noted it reduces green space. The committee asked staff to confirm the city's deadline for a commitment and to track the "point of no return" in the city's design/bid timeline so the district's secondary-referendum planning can reflect that schedule.