School Proposes Brief Closure Of N. Pine To Improve Bus Drop-off Safety
Author: Linda Kent, MT43 News Staff Reporter
School Proposes Brief Closure of N. Pine to Improve Bus Drop-off Safety
Linda Kent
MT43 News Staff Reporter
New Townsend Elementary Principal Steven Cook and Head Custodian Jim Riddle met with Townsend City Mayor Vickie Rauser and Public Works Director Eric Crusch to discuss closing a section of North Pine Street to through traffic. The proposal, Cook said, would close the street for a 15-minute window beginning around 7:45 each morning school is in session around the bus drop-off area adjacent to the Elementary School Entrance.
“It appears that the biggest mess occurs when the buses pull in and start dropping kids off,” Cook told Townsend School District Trustees at their regular Aug. 13 meeting. “What happens is there’s a traffic jam with dropping and stopping and kids crossing the street, you have back and forth traffic, but the biggest problem is you have kids running between the buses and the bus drivers can’t see it.”
The street would be barricaded off and monitored by school staff, Superintendent Susie Hedalen explained. Residents of homes along the closure area and those who need to park in the school lot located just north of the drop-off would be able to use the street during the closure.
Hedalen added that she had received positive feedback from North Pine Street residents. “From our conversations, they would be more than happy to have this occur because they have people pulling in and out of their driveways or even blocking them in when they are trying to leave for work during this time,” she said.
Townsend’s City Council will hear the proposal during their Aug. 20 meeting. If the full-closure proposal is not approved, Hedalen said, barricades will be set up along the bus parking lane with two crossing guards at each end.
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PhotoCredit: Photo Credits: Linda Kent
Image 1 Caption: Townsend Schools is proposing a 15-minute closure of N. Pine Street along the bus lane beginning around 7:45 a.m. on school days. Pine Street would be barricaded off, with traffic redirected along Second and Third streets during the closure. Residents of the 200 block of N. Pine would not be affected. Townsend’s City Council will hear the proposal Aug. 20.
Photo Credits: Linda Kent