WILLIAMSBURG - Borough police and Williamsburg Community School District administrators said they are working to correct parents' dangerous habit of dropping off their children for school in the middle of the street.
"Over the past couple years, it's gotten worse," elementary Principal Lisa Murgas said.
Having no parking lot - only a bus port that allows buses to pull up beside school doors - parents have resorted to dropping off children in the eastbound lane of Sage Hill Drive as others double-park their vehicles along a sidewalk in the westbound lane.
At the 3:30 p.m. school day dismissal, cars may even be triple-parked on Sage Hill Drive to pick up children, school board members said.
"People come at 2 p.m. so that they don't get blocked in by traffic," board member Patty Kensinger said.
Williamsburg Borough Police Chief Rowdy Kagarise is seeking the borough's approval to install signs indicating 15-minute parking from 8:15 to 9 a.m. on Sage Hill Drive. In addition, eastbound drop-offs and walking through traffic will be prohibited.
"It's a safety issue for kids," Kagarise said.
The congestion is also a hazard for first responders needing emergency access to the school.
"There are other places to park," he said.
Kagarise said he will monitor parking at Sage Hill Drive when school begins on Aug. 27. Cars double-parked risk a fine.
The district's legal counsel affirmed the need to organize traffic at the school.
"As solicitor, this makes all the sense in the world," attorney Dave Andrews said. "You can't have people crossing the street like that."
Notifications of the traffic changes will be sent to parents, Murgas said.
"It will take a few days to see what works," Murgas said of the traffic plan. "We appreciate everyone's cooperation."
Mirror Staff Writer Russ O'Reilly is at 946-7435.
