Merrimack School District
Planning & Building Committee
Minutes of the June 10, 1997 Meeting
Present: S. Heinrich, J. Flis, W. Morrison, T. Koenig, D. Miller, M. Morrison
The meeting was called to order at 7:30 by S. Heinrich.
Discussion: School Traffic Patterns
S. Heinrich welcomed Dick Dumont (Transportation Coordinator), Phil MvRoberts
(National School Bus), Tim Mayes (Principal: Merrimack High), Frank Hoell
(Principal: Reeds Ferry), Nancy Custer (Principal: Mastricola Elementary), and
Karen Dickson and John Shaw (Mastricola Elementary P.A.T.T.) who were present
to discuss school traffic problems.
Merrimack High
Tim Mayes noted that the biggest traffic problems occur at dismissal time,
between 2:25 and 2:45 P.M. He noted that thirty-six buses are currently in
use in two waves. This has caused a bus parking problem. The first few buses
actually extend into O'Gara Drive. Another problem is that cars parked along
O'Gara Drive back out into the road at many locations. He felt the current
bus pattern and the parking monitor work pretty well. Phil McRoberts agreed
that the current pattern is the most effective one. T. Mayes would like to
have parking lots fenced and designed so that traffic flow is restricted to
specific entrances/exits which would provide better control. Also, he would
like additional parking (200-250 spaces) and sidewalks inside the fences.
Further he indicated that bus dismissal is delayed to allow cars to clear the
area. Dick Dumont indicated that the biggest problem seems to be cars pulling
out in front of or between buses. It was noted that there is no procedure or
plan for student pick-up at the end of the day and parents/friends waiting to
pick up students also create a logjam in front of the school. In response to
a question, T. Mayes noted that faculty parks in Lot 1 & 2, permits are sold
for Lots 3 & 4 to seniors and all other students are allowed to park elsewhere
on school property. J. Flis suggested that MHS implement a rule that drivers
pulling out between buses will lose their permit. He also suggested that as
McElwain St. in one way to MHS, O'Gara Drive be one way leaving MHS from 2-3
P.M. As alternatives, S. Heinrich suggested establishing a right hand turn
lane on O'Gara at the Baboosic Lake Rd. intersection and/or making O'Gara
Drive one way after the entrance to the Mastricola Elementary parking lot.
D. Dumont felt that one way traffic would be best and suggested working with
Mastricola Elementary to resolve parking lot access. He also suggested
changing starting and dismissal times for the elementary schools might
alleviate the situation.
Mastricola complex
D. Dumont reported for Tim Levesque that the two waves of school buses at
dismissal time are working well. Buses pull in at approximately 2:15 P.M. and
both waves are cleared by 2:30 P.M. when walkers are dismissed. Access to the
parking lot and both school offices is restricted at that time. P. McRoberts
reported that there are 18 buses in each wave. They line up in the circle
(circle holds 6 buses) and along the school. The line-up stops just short of
entering Baboosic Lake Rd. Kathy Custer indicated that 9 buses service
Mastricola Elementary students. They pull into the circle, usually three at a
time starting at 3 P.M. Students that are dismissed to parents are picked up
in the back parking lot using a pass system. She noted that doors to the
school from the back parking lot are locked for security reasons. M. Morrison
asked about connecting the front and back lots at Mastricola Elementary.
K. Custer noted that entrance to the front parking lot is basically impossible
from 2:15 - 3:15 P.M. W. Morrison asked about the possibility of having bus
dismissal through the new gymnasium and parent pick-up at the front of the
school. S. Heinrich noted that to accomplish this the back parking lot would
have to be enlarged and a second entrance/exit would have to be added.
K. Custer indicated that she currently has 65 staff members. She also brought
up the fact that the pre-school program dismisses to small buses/vans in the
front of the school. She indicated that parents dropping students off in the
morning just join the line of traffic and there seem to be no problems.
D. Dumont commented that parents doing this at the middle school are a
problem. In the morning, buses do not drop off students in the circle at the
front or gym doors. Rather they rather stop at the side/all purpose room
double doors. S. Heinrich asked if establishing a procedure for student drop
off in the circle with access and egress from Bishop St. would help.
D. Dumont said it would. S. Heinrich asked about if having a marked drop-off
lane would be helpful to the elementary school. K. Custer thought it might
help. She also indicated that she would like to see something done about the
parking spaces in the circle, especially those in the middle. There are some
around the edge including labeled handicapped spaces for MES. There are no
spaces along the outer edge of the circle next to MMS due in part to kitchen
loading dock. Cars parked anywhere in the circle do hinder buses at dismissal
times for both schools. S. Heinrich noted that the only legal handicapped
parking spaces at the middle school are next to the all purpose room entrance
which is locked during the day. The handicapped spaces near the front door
are in the middle of the circle and not correctly marked. J. Flis asked if a
pull-in loop off Baboosic Lake Rd. would help. Most present agreed it would
not. J. Flis further suggested that MHS, MMS and MES must be treated as one
campus as solutions to problems at one impact the others. He wants to see all
three schools on one single map to make discussions and solutions easier to
see.
Reeds Ferry School
F. Hoell wanted to publicly commend P. McRoberts and the bus company for
their cooperation and help during the construction at his school. He
indicated that the current traffic pattern will change as soon as construction
on the additions is finished. He explained that the plan for next year is to
have buses make two stops in the circle in front of the school. Younger
children get off at one stop and older children get off at the other. No
parents will be allowed in the circle. He indicated that he uses a two lane
system through the parking lot for pick-up and drop-off. He said that
additional sinage would be extremely helpful. Fourteen buses service Reeds
Ferry. In the afternoon, four buses are dismissed at a time. He noted that
students who ride special vans are dismissed through the all purpose room.
D. Dumont stated that of all the schools in the district, Reeds Ferry has the
fewest problems. J. Flis labeled the problem as "flow control".
Thorntons Ferry
The clerk reported for Principal Les Carter who had called with his concerns.
He felt his biggest need was for additional sinage to control the flow of
traffic. He also indicated a need for sidewalks. Students being picked up
by parents are dismissed before any other students. As a result, parents
often pull out or back out into the bus lane in order to leave the school
through the exit. In the morning parents are not allowed in the circle but
rather drop off students at the end of building near the all purpose room.
This occasionally backs up buses until they can enter the circle. Marking
the initial "entrance" driveway to the circle with a bus lane and a car lane
might alleviate this problem. D. Dumont indicated that scheduling is another
key here. J. Flis agreed that directing the traffic flow and adequate sinage
were needed.
S. Heinrich thanked each of the principals, parents, D. Dumont and
P. McRoberts for adding to the discussion. J. Flis left the meeting at this
time.
Discussion: Mastricola Complex Recreational Areas
S. Heinrich invited K. Custer and J. Shaw to join the committee discussion on
recreational areas at the Mastricola complex. K. Custer asked about the
progress on the school field reorganization plans. She indicated that MES has
very little recreational area and as part of the addition plan, they will be
receiving additional paved play area. She noted that the area near between
the MES parking lot and the back of the middle school is used by the middle
school. She felt her biggest priority was continued use of O'Neil Field.
S. Heinrich told her that PBC plans give first priority for school time use of
O'Neil Field to MES. He suggested that in conjunction with the traffic
pattern discussion, possibly moving the back parking lot could result in both
an enlarged parking lot and enlarged play area. K. Custer suggested the need
for a fence between parking and play areas for safety. There were questions
about noise in the area. K. Custer also stated that P.A.T.T. had organized
a group to beautify the area. M. Morrison indicated a concern about access
to the field from the front of the building as well as the rear. When
questioned about playground equipment, K. Custer explained that there is a
P.A.T.T. fund for equipment to replace items that were moved or broken due to
the construction. The biggest problems will be where to locate these items
because they do not have a lot of playground field area and cannot locate
them in the middle of O'Neil field. K. Custer also spoke of field scheduling
problems. She indicated that MES had wanted to hold a school-wide "Kite Day"
on a Saturday this past spring and had requested use of O'Neil field through
Shirley Lemay's office. They were denied use of field because Joe Raycraft
wanted to use all fields for a baseball clinic. She said they appealed to
the Superintendent and were eventually granted permission to have O'Neil
field for their function. But, she indicated that this problem only
reenforces MES's concerns regarding O'Neil field being primarily for MES!
It was noted that there have been several field and scheduling issues this
spring between schools, MYA, and Parks and Recreation. The biggest questions
seem to be who schedules what and what the district policy is. J. Shaw, who
is working with the committee on O'Neil field, told the committee that the
field development committee has voted that the plan to put a baseball field at
the middle school is not viable and they have requested that the architect
being hired should look at fields, traffic and parking. He wanted to know why
the PBC was duplicating the efforts of this other committee. S. Heinrich told
him that the PBC has been looking into field development for nearly ten years
and had developed a parking plan for MHS three years ago and that they had
been charged by the School Board to look into traffic. He further explained
that a goal of the PBC has been to facilitate all of these projects in a
cooperative manner with all interested groups.
Approval of Minutes
On a motion from T. Koenic, seconded by M. Morrison, the minutes of May 15,
1997 were approved unanimously. W. Morrison noted that the new PBC header
with the web address was incorrect. It should be "...com/..."
Capital Improvement Program (C.I.P.)
The committee received copies of the C.I.P. as approved last year. They
indicated that without direction and further information from the
administration, they felt they could not make suggestions at this time.
Other
T. Koenig asked for clarification regarding the next meeting date. It was
posted as July 18, 1997 and he thought it was July 8, 1997. The correct
meeting date is July 8, 1997. The clerk will re-post the committee meeting
dates.
Public Participation
There was no public participation.
On a motion from T. Koenig, seconded by everyone, the committee unanimously
voted to adjourn at 10:25 P.M.
Respectfully submitted,
Planning & Building Committee
Merrimack School District
Last Updated: February 2, 1998 by Wayne Morrison