Tom Tardif: School driveway needs to be expanded to accommodate rush-hour traffic

To The Daily Sun,

The Elm Street School issues relate to parents picking up their children who are not all able to enter the school's driveway. They are forced to park on the side of the road waiting for a chance to enter, causing all the non-school-related vehicles to stop, and extending the long line blocking two-way traffic delays getting to and from Lakeport. The intended fix was to change the 3 p.m. end of the school day to 2:50 p.m., blocking the 24-foot driveway’s entrance until 2:51 p.m. without seeking advice from the New Hampshire School Safety Department of Education, or the City Council’s Safety Committee, and the driveway issues festered.

An estimate of the total number of cars that may be in the drop-off/pick-up area at any one time should be made to establish a drop-off/pick-up driveway area that is wide and long enough to avoid congestion. The most common and preferred is “bumper to bumper.”

The current driveway situation affects parents, staff and emergency vehicles access to the school and the passage of emergency apparatus on the road from either direction.

Moreover, the walking children must use the sidewalk’s crosswalk in 2 inches of water or slush as the sidewalk is 2 inches below the road and green space.

NH School Safety Department recommends the driveway should be at least 30 feet wide, preferably 40 feet wide for ingress and egress points. A relatively flat grade is also desirable at least 100 feet from the street. This flat grade will provide better operation during adverse weather conditions. A maximum grade recommended for emergency access key components such as change the 24-foot width of the driveway entrance which currently is a combination of the exit and entrance which occupy the driveway at the same time must be corrected.

Tom Tardif

Laconia