Officials Want To Solve Deerfield Elementary Drop-Off Woes

OAK CREEK, WI — Members of the Oak Creek Plan Commission will be meeting with school officials and developers over a proposal to solve student pickup and drop-off woes at Deerfield Elementary School.

The plans will be up for review during the March 12 Plan Commission meeting at 6 p.m. at the Common Council chambers, 8040 S. Sixth Street.

According to Plan Commission documents, school officials are submitting plans to ease traffic flow, add more walkable spaces and safer paths of travel for the school at 3871 E. Bluestem Drive.

According to meeting documents, as it stands right now, parents drop off their children in the front of the school each morning, as parents pull up along the front of the building and drop children off along the sidewalk. Officials say traffic congestion occurs at the entrance drive of the parking lot and backs up out onto Bluestem Drive. School buses utilize the west playground and drive.

Officials want to fix this bu having parents drop off children from S. Emerald Meadows Drive, drive along the south and east sides of the building, and drop off children at the concrete sidewalk area at the northeast corner of the school. Parents would then exit the site through the north parking lot to Bluestem Drive.

Parents who park and walk their children to the front door would use the north parking lot. Additional parking spaces will be available in the north parking lot due to the additional parking stalls being created along the east side of the building.

Staff parking would be on the east and south sides of the building leaving nearly the entire front parking lot open for parents who want to park and walk their children to the front door.

On the east, the existing access drive will be widened and a new 23-stall lighted parking lot will be installed. Existing walking paths will be relocated to accommodate the new parking lot. A retaining wall is being proposed on the northeast portion of the parking lot.

South of the building, the existing access drive will be widened and the parking area expanded from 12 to 14 stalls. This would add 22 total parking spaces.

The proposed renovations are part of the Oak Creek-Franklin School District's $60.9 million referendum. Voters narrowly approved the referendum in November by less than 2,500 votes.

District officials say that the referendum will address a number of needs identified by the Oak Creek-Franklin Joint School District.

The cost of the referendum equals an estimated annual tax increase of $118 per year (or $9.81 per month) on a $225,000 home.