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TYRONE – Student drop-offs at Tyrone Area Elementary School should result in fewer concerns because of a plan put together by district administrators, who said arrivals and departures will be safer and less aggravating.
Concerns primarily stemmed from parents ignoring no-parking signs along Clay Avenue when dropping off and picking up students, Tyrone Area Superintendent Cathy Harlow said.
“The state police have told us that they do not want any parking on Clay Avenue, either side,” Harlow said during a meeting Thursday at the district office.
Parking has been a long-standing issue within the district, “as it is in many districts,” Harlow said, but last year the Tyrone Area pre-K program was changed to begin the same time as other grades.
“We don’t provide transportation for those students, so that means they are all parent-transported,” Harlow said, explaining that busing the 3- and 4-year-old students would be complicated.
Transportation is available for all other school-aged students, Harlow said.
There are 181 students enrolled in the district’s pre-K program, officials said.
“Preschool has grown a little,” district business administrator John Clark said.
To remedy the parking situation, district officials met with representatives from multiple police agencies, as well as the state Department of Transportation and Snyder Township, to hear suggestions, which would eventually lead to the completed plan, Harlow said.
The school is in Snyder Township, meaning state police enforce rules in the area. District officials said police visited the school once last year to issue warnings to those violating parking rules, but visits are rare.
To bolster enforcement, Snyder Township supervisors voted earlier this month to allow Tyrone police and Tyrone School District Police – the district has one officer – to enforce parking rules in the problem area.
On Thursday, however, a Tyrone officer relayed a message from Chief John Romeo, who said the logistics of the increased enforcement were not yet determined.
Tom Muir, the district’s transportation director, said additional no-parking cones and signs will be installed at the problem area.
Signs intended to guide traffic and promote speed limits also are to be added to district property, Muir said.
Along with increased enforcement, Harlow said a plan was drafted to ease parking for parents, and a letter dated Aug. 2 was mailed to their homes.
Arrival and dismissal times were the first items listed in the letter.
Morning pre-K classes will start at 8:10 a.m. and end at 11:10 a.m. this school year, and the afternoon program will now begin at
11:45 a.m. and end at 2:45 p.m.
And the start time for elementary students has been shifted back five minutes to 7:55 a.m., Harlow said.
The staggered start times are intended to clear up traffic congestion, and additional parking spaces will help, too, officials said.
The letter said an additional 30 parent spaces will be added to the south side of the elementary school, and a turnaround near its rear will be opened to accommodate traffic flow, Muir said.
“But it’s only going to be open until 8:10 a.m.,” Muir said, explaining it will become a play area later in the day.
After all school buses have arrived at about 7:50 a.m., parents will be allowed to drop off students directly in front of the elementary school, according to the letter.
Also for a stipulated time at the beginning and end of school days, motorists will be able to only turn right out of the elementary school lot near a number of tennis courts, Muir said.
“We are going to let the school buses go whichever way they need to go,” Muir said.
In addition to the 30 spots, other parking areas will be available to parents, Muir said, setting the number at 58 total spots, maybe more.
“With all of these extra parking spaces, hopefully we can accommodate everyone,” Muir said.
Muir said staff will be on hand to direct parents during the first few days of the school year.
Still, parents should be patient at the start of the year, as changed procedures might take some time to reach peak efficiency, Muir said.
“The first couple days of school are not going to be indicative of what our traffic will be into the school year,” he said.
Harlow said officials would appreciate cooperation from parents.
“Our administration worked hard at looking at this,” Harlow said. “We want to ensure the safety of our students.”
Mirror Staff Writer Sean Sauro is at 946-7535.