Meeting Tonight to Discuss Parking Restrictions in South School Neighborhood

A  proposed decision to implement parking restrictions near has caused concerns from Liberty Pole parents.

There will  be a meeting tonight between Liberty Pole neighborhood parents and the Traffic Committee at 7:00 p.m in the Town Hall.

At the Selectmen meeting on March 22,  the  Traffic Committee recommended to the Board of Selectmen to install  16-20,   “No Parking Anytime” signs on the loop and both sides of Independence Lane, a neighboring street to where parents have commonly picked up their children.

The sign posts and  labor will cost an estimated $1,600 which the committee recommended to be billed to the School Department.

 According to South Elementary School Principal Eliza Burns, there are 141 walkers from the Liberty Pole neighborhood and during the winter months, their parents will usually drive them to and from school.

“Rather than taking a left onto main street and then taking another left into  the South School parking lot, [parents] were parking around the Independence [Lane] triangle,” Burns said.

 Chief of the traffic committee, Sgt. Steven Deart said the signs on Independence Lane must be implemented because the congestion of vehicles has blocked traffic and has become a safety issue. The Traffic Committee has met several times to discuss plans for parking at and believe the safest solution is to install signs.

The committee has proposed for parking restrictions at all times of the day because there  have been parking concerns during  school hours and afterschool events.

According to Deart, due to the congestion, emergency vehicles cannot pass. He noted that earlier this school year, a fire truck could not make a left from Liberty Pole to Independence Lane.

Chairman of the Planning Board Paul Healey also said that due to the congestion,  vehicles cannot see small children crossing the road.

“We’re talking about really little children- some of them crossing the street,” Healey said. “That’s very dangerous.”

Independence Lane residents have also been impacted by the problem of cars blocking their street.

“The roads aren’t wide enough,” said Harry Sylvester, a member of the traffic committee  and Department of Public Works.

Some South School parents believe if the town prohibits parking on Independence Lane, there will be an even greater safety issues because students would then have to cross Main Street at rush hour to get to their vehicles.

South School mother, Tisha Peterson of Brewster Road urged the selectmen to let the parents and traffic committee hold a meeting before they vote on the issue.

“If there has been any damage at Independence, it’s not intentional,” Peterson said.

Peterson also stated that the issue has never been addressed to parents.

“I was told to park on Independence… there has been no literature on where to park,” she said to the Selectmen.  “Parents are confused.”

According to  Burns,  multiple notices have been sent home to Liberty Pole parents.  Since November, Burns has sent paper notices home in addition to sending emails to parents who subscribe to the school’s newsletter.

On Nov. 29, Burns also instituted the Liberty Pole carpool loop, something she had also notified Liberty Pole parents about through notices.  This was designed so parents would pull up with their vehicles in one single line to the red sign in front of the on Main Street.  Each car is required to have their student's  name on the passenger side of the vehicle.  Once the cars reach the sign, they can drop of their children or pick them up and then move on.  According to Burns , between 25 to 30 vehicle participate in the carpool loop on a daily basis. 

“There were several parents, after the implementation who continued to park on Independence Lane and I personally went out and asked them to start using the circle,” Burns said.

Burns continued to monitor the parking on Independence Lane during the two weeks prior to February Vacation.

“I took pictures, I monitored it very closely,” she said.

 Since February vacation,  Burns said there has been consistently no parking in that neighborhood.

 “There’s been a lot of notification to parents through the newsletter and through the email distribution list,” Burns said. 

 Burns stands at the red sign at the Fire Station on a daily basis and says she has noticed a difference. 

“I can see the triangle clearly from where I stand and there are no cars,” she said.

On the school’s website , Burns advises parents to  park across from the on Main Street in the bus turn-around-loop, however no where on the parking instructions does it  notify parents not to park on Independence.

 While some Independence Lane residents are in favor of the parking restrictions, others do not want them to be in effect at all times.

 Independence Lane resident Chris Donovan was opposed to the signs because he was concerned where his friends and family would park when visiting his residence.

Selectmen Laura Burns proposed an idea to have the signs on only one side of the road.  Burns also stated that she didn’t feel ready for further discussion.

The issue will be re-opened  and discussed at  the Board of Selectmen meeting on April 5.