Revised Stratton School Plan Gains Approval

The Board of Selectmen unanimously approved a revised plan to alter traffic patterns around Stratton Elementary School on Monday after an initial proposal, at its previous meeting, was met with stiff opposition from neighboring residents.

The new plan, developed by the town's Transportation Advisory Committee, still makes student safety a top priority and aims to relieve congestion at the school, according to committee members. However, it is also amenable to nearby residents, committee co-chairman Jeffrey Maxtutis said Wednesday.

"We knocked on doors before the Selectmen's meeting," he said, "and neighbors, who voiced opposition to the initial proposal, supported the new plan."

At the Selectmen's previous meeting on July 26, about 50 neighboring residents expressed concerns that the initial proposal, part of the town's Safe Routes to Schools program, was inconvenient to residents, as it made Mountain Avenue and Phesant Avenue one-way streets in opposite directions. They also feared that there wasn't enough drop-off spots close to school and believed that motorists would increase their speeds on the one-way avenues.

The new recommendations are as follows:

• Make Wheeler Lane a one-way, away from the school, between Mountain and Dickson Avenue.
• Post "No Entry from 7:30 to 9 a.m., Monday through Friday" signs at all entries to Mountain from Dickson.
• Move "no parking" signs on Wheeler to the east side of the street.
• Complete the asphalt sidewalk on the west side of Wheeler up to the large tree if possible.
• Post "15-minute parking" signs on Mountain adjacent to the school parking lot.
• Post "15-minute parking" signs on school side of Pheasant at the nursery school.
• Stratton principal to communicate these changes to the parents via e-mail and letters.
• Enforcement to be provided, at minimum, on the first day of school and randomly for the following two weeks.

The committee urged the town to complete the proposed changes before the start of the school year. The committee has been working with Stratton School officials for two years to improve traffic flow at the school.