Beverly Issues Instructions For Middle School Drop-Off, Pick-up

BEVERLY, MA -- School officials issued written instructions for the drop-off and pick-up procedure at the new Beverly Middle School. The school's opening last week has caused traffic headaches for parents as well as workers at the nearby Cummings Center.

In the morning:

Buses:

• Buses will enter using the Cabot Street entrance closest to Tasty’s, proceed through the Staff Only designated lot, and let students off in the outdoor learning space. Buses will then turn right down the one way along the gym and proceed back to the bus depot located on the opposite side of the building.

Cabot Street:

• After entering take a sharp left to drop students off at the main entrance. This is a one way and proceed out the exit back on to Cabot Street.
• Vehicles that do not turn left to the main entrance should continue towards the back of the building by the bus depot and gym. Students may be dropped off there and enter the building through the Gym/Auditorium entrance.

Balch Street:

• Enter through entrance by the fields. At the fork in the road, bear right, and continue along the turf field. Take a left at the gate (one way) and drop off at the Gym/Auditorium entrance. Please note that this road is intended for two-way traffic so please monitor your speed exiting and entering the campus.
• To exit using Balch Street, take a left at the “Stop” sign and follow the road the exit.
• To exit using Cabot Street, take a right at the “Stop” sign and continue along the side of the building. Take a right at the end of the road, and exit by driving by the main entrance and taking a right onto Cabot Street.

In the afternoon:

Buses:

• Buses will enter using the Cabot Street entrance closest to Tasty’s, and align using the access road along the outdoor learning spaces and turf field. All buses will exit using Balch Street. This route is for buses only.

Cabot Street:

• After entering take a sharp left to drop students off at the main entrance. Proceed out the Exit Only back on to Cabot Street.
• Vehicles that do not turn left to the main entrance should continue towards the back of the building by the bus depot and gym. Students may be picked up along the side of the building or at the back entrance (Gym/Auditorium).

Balch Street:

• Enter through entrance by the fields. At the fork in the road, bear left. Students can be picked up in the back parking lot (Gym/Auditorium) or along the building. Please note that this road is intended for two-way traffic so please monitor your speed exiting and entering the campus.
• To exit using Balch Street, take a left at the “Stop” sign and follow the road the exit.
• To exit using Cabot Street, take a right at the “Stop” sign and continue along the side of the building. Take a right at the end of the road, and exit by driving by the main entrance and taking a right onto Cabot Street.

Beverly officials say enforcement for parking restrictions at Cummings Center and a desire by parents to walk kids into school last week led to massive traffic backups at the new Beverly Middle School. The $110 million school opened to students for the first time on Tuesday and the first, noticeable challenge for school officials was the traffic backup at drop-off and pick-up times.

Employees at Cummings Center told parents they could not park there, compounding the drop-off problem. Many parents wanted to park and walk their kids into school.

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Maps by Beverly Public Schools.

Dave Copeland can be reached at dave.copeland@patch.com or by calling 617-433-7851. Follow him on Twitter (@CopeWrites) and Facebook (/copewrites).