AN AERIAL view of the new color-coded traffic patterns for pick-up and drop-off times on the upper parking lot of the NRHS/MS campus. (Courtesy Photo)

 

By MAUREEN DOHERTY

NORTH READING — Significant changes to the traffic patterns at the North Reading Middle School/High School campus will be debuted on the opening day of school.

Superintendent of Schools Dr. Patrick Daly announced the changes this week in a press release to all parents as a means to alleviate the severe congestion experienced at drop-off and pick-up times for both schools.

With the adoption of new later school start times at both the Middle School and High School and the sharing of bus transportation for students in grades 6-12 for the first time in decades in the district, over the summer school administrators partnered with the town’s Fire Department as well as the Police Department’s School Resource Officer Det. Paul Lucci and Safety Officer Tim King to develop the new traffic patterns and rules in effect in both the upper and lower campus parking lots.

Lucci, King, NRHS Principal Anthony Loprete and NRMS Principal Dr. Catherine O’Connell also teamed up to create an eight-and-one-half minute video explaining all the changes, complete with aerial photos of the lots superimposed with color-code directional arrows. This link (north-reading.k12.ma.us/families/pages/dropoffpickup) will take you directly to the video on the school’s website. Still photos of both lots are printed in today’s Back-to-School edition.

Daly sent a welcome letter to parents Tuesday with a link to the video and a request that all students and parents watch the video prior to the first day of school next Wednesday, Sept. 8.

“The new design includes a larger traffic loop to allow for less congestion as well as a ‘quick drop’ loop in the lower parking lot. Please review the video for specific details,” Daly stated in his letter.

Daly continued, “As with any new process, there will be a learning curve. We ask for your patience as we implement these new procedures. Consider arriving early and allowing some extra time, especially during these first few weeks, as everyone adjusts to the process.”

 

A QUICK DROP-OFF and pick-up option has been created in the lower lot of the NRHS/MS campus. Students dropped off here will walk up the hill to their schools. During mornings only a shuttle bus will be provided for those students carrying instruments or school projects or who otherwise cannot walk up the hill easily. (Courtesy Photo)

 

“Please follow the signs, directions, and traffic patterns as designed. The only way for us to successfully implement this new process is for everyone to follow the rules so that we can determine any adjustments that need to be made,” he added.

“With everyone’s cooperation we are hopeful that these design improvements will allow for a safe and effective drop-off/pick-up process that will accommodate students at both the middle school and high school,” his letter concluded.

As explained in the video, the quick drop-off or express loop in the lower lot will enable parents to drop off their kids close to the base of the hill without having to interact with the traffic congestion around the schools. Students will use the crosswalk where there will be a crossing guard, to get to the sidewalk that runs along the driveway and is protected by a guardrail.

A shuttle bus will also be available to bring students who are carrying a lot of stuff, such as projects and large instruments, up the hill. This bus will drop off students in the small lot adjacent to the Middle School music wing and the High School academic wing before swinging back down to the lower lot.

Officer King states in the video that the timing of the traffic lights on Park Street have also been adjusted to facilitate traffic in and out of the campus.

Color-code maps indicate the areas in the parking lots where “stopping or standing” is prohibited. Green arrows indicate continuous flow of traffic where pedestrians should not wander and drop-offs or pick-ups should not occur, yellow arrows indicate areas where students may be dropped off adjacent to sidewalks, and the space reserved for the shuttle bus is marked in red on the map.

For the upper parking lot the entire perimeter of the lot will be used for traffic flow, up to the rear of the lot and back down along the tennis courts toward the main entrances. The student drop-off/pick-up area will be limited to the main entrances of both schools. The Sherman Road access will remain the exclusive domain of school buses to circulate in and out.

One-way in and out is the theme in all scenarios for entering and exiting both the upper and lower campus.

If necessary, the traffic flow pattern will be tweaked once it is put into practice if problems with its implementation emerge.