Drop-Off and Pick-Up Safety

Recently our Moms Council has discussed issues like , tips on , and  around Newport.

This week our moms talked about safety concerns during drop-off and pick-up time at school.

In case you haven't met them yet, let us introduce you to our Moms Council:

• Abby Rowe: Abby is married and has a two-year-old daughter. She and her husband are expecting a second child this spring. Abby is the owner of Stroller Strides of Newport, a fitness program that moms can do with their babies. She is also currently serving as President of the Newport/Middletown MOMS Club.
• Naomi Neville: Naomi is married and has two girls, one who attends Underwood School and one who is in preschool. She is a member of the Newport City Council and also a registered architect in Rhode Island, running a local practice on Thames Street. Naomi has also served as Chair of Newport's Planning Board and was on the Aquidneck Island Planning Commission. She has a bachelor's from Yale University and a master's in Architecture from Columbia University.
• Lynn Ceglie: Lynne is married and has two children at Rogers High School, a daughter who is a junior and a son who is a sophomore. Lynn works for East Bay Community Action Program as a child outreach screener at Sullivan School. She is also a board member and secretary of the Newport Public Education Foundation.
• Nikki Vazquez: is married and has two children. She has been involved in a number of local initiatives, including serving as co-founder of the Newport Community Garden and chairperson for Newport in Bloom. She is also the owner of Ladies Who Lunch, a full service personal chef and events management company. Her son attends St. Michael's Country Day School.

This week's question: How safe are your kids during school drop-off and pick-up times?

Lynn: The urban environment certainly makes drop-off much more challenging. In Newport, however, the elementary schools were not built to accommodate buses, traffic congestion, or parking requirements.  Cranston-Calvert and Coggeshall were built before Henry Ford even invented the Model T!  Thankfully, due to the passage of the Pell Elementary School bond, Newport elementary children will attend a modern school that will have safe drop-off and pick-up areas.  Plans to ensure utmost safety for Newport children are in the works, and recommendations by city safety officials are being made concerning all safety accommodations.  

Naomi: The design of the Pell school drop off is what had me thinking about this topic. So far I am not thrilled with the proposal of having parents drop off children on the opposite side of a two-way street and then have to cross.  I think the design needs more work. Maybe change Dexter street to one-way?

On another note, someone stole the cross-walk sign from the front of Underwood's entrance. Really???

Nikki: We have a pretty organized pick-up/drop-off for our son when we take him by car, but we really try to walk or ride bikes most mornings and afternoons, and that is kind of a nightmare.  There are no sidewalks that go directly from our house, down Gibbs to arrive at school, and the Rhode Island Avenue route is even more treacherous!  I know Newport was investigating the healthy city initiative and I think it would be a great idea to have sidewalks for safe walking routes to all of our schools.

Abby: It would be so nice to be able to walk or bike ride to school during good weather!  Right now, we bring Adelaide to Little Friends and there is a good-sized parking lot for us to use.  Everyone is really cautious about pulling into the lot because of all the little kiddos, which I always appreciate.  Despite that, I like being able to take Adelaide by the hand and walk her into school.  I think the safety of the drop off area would be more of a concern for me if Adelaide were taking a bus to school and walking across the lot or street by herself.  I think designing safe drop-off areas is key.  I also think that we need to strictly enforce speed limits in school zones.  I notice that the school zones on East and West Main Road are really well-marked and enforced, and thus seem to be well respected.  I think we need the same sort of security around our schools in Newport.