Email like the one on East Traffic has been sent to us before. This issue has not been put on the agenda as I recall. Like the safety of the swimming pools it may require a near death experience.
Here are two more, the first from April 13th:
to Schoolboard
Hello School Board Members-
Here is the email that was sent to parents today:Due to safety issues and traffic congestion, you may no longer drop off students at the entrance on 40th Avenue East side of the high school. The entrance door will be locked during the school day.
Please make arrangements to drop off or pick up your child at the front turn around or another location.
Your cooperation is appreciated.
Facilities ManagementI made contacts last fall regarding the safety and parking issues at East. It is a disaster waiting to happen! One school board member said they are aware of the problem and working on it. But they keep pointing to the City of Duluth. The City points back to the school board. All I can say is, if a student dies because of finger pointing and not dealing with the issue, that is not acceptable. When I spoke with Mark Bauer from the city who is in charge of parking, he has never even driven by the “new” East! Really?!
What may have looked good on paper is not working in real life. By sending out the message today, the School Board has pushed the issue to parents without offering viable solutions. Because the school board and city have chosen to ignore the parking issues, it forces parents to have to pick up their children. Suggesting that parents go into the parking lot is the worst idea you could suggest! The congestion is ridiculous trying to get out of the lot. Having one entrance and exit for a school this size is not acceptable. Additionally, the cars cannot get out of the lot onto 40th due to students trying to cross and cars driving. By the time a car can sneak out, the kids are accelerating at an unsafe speed because they are frustrated from sitting in the lot waiting for 20 minutes.
I would be happy to sit on a task force to address this issue. The city and school board need to work together to find more student parking. By allowing more students to park, you will have less parent congestion at pickup & drop off times.I highly suggest that school board members come to East at 3:15 and watch the process, you will be stunned at the dangerous situation that has been created.
Thank you for your time-
and from February 5th:
to Schoolboard, william.gronse.
Dear Superintendent Gronseth and School Board Members:I am writing to you on behalf of students, staff and parents concerning the unsafe traffic issues at Duluth East High School. Today while waiting in the usual after school traffic jam, I witnessed three students nearly run over in the crosswalk. The driver could not see them because of the line up of cars backed up onto 40th Avenue waiting to pick up their kids. These cars block the crosswalk and obstruct the view of oncoming traffic making it next to impossible to know if someone is crossing until you’re almost on top of them. This situation is hardly new. In fact, during the first week of school I spoke with both Principal Knapp and the police officer on duty after my daughter had a very close call in that very same crosswalk. At the time I asked why something as simple as a flashing sign couldn’t be installed to better alert drivers and potentially avoid the accident just waiting to happen. I was made to understand that there appears to be some confusion as to who is responsible, school district, city, or, in the case of the flashing sign, state, and that either way, there is no room in the budget to remedy this dangerous situation. And the crosswalks are just part of the problem. Parents have expressed the following concerns:
1. Poorly lit parking lots. One parent shared her story of nearly running over a student one night in the parking lot due to the low visibility. She also voiced her concern for students arriving late from extracurricular activities and having to walk out to their cars in the dark.
2. Zero supervision of the parking lots after school. Reckless driving, swearing, smoking, etc. are common everyday occurrences. Most parents do their best to avoid this scary situation which only leads to traffic jams on the side streets across from the school.
3. The line up of cars in the entrance lane to pick up kids makes it difficult if not impossible to enter the parking lot after school. What happens if there is an emergency and an ambulance or fire truck needs to have access to that area of the building? I imagine a fire code or two is being broken with the current set-up. What’s even worse is that the middle exit lane is often blocked as well by parents attempting to make a left turn into the school and merge with the pick up line. When this happens, traffic on 40th Avenue comes to a standstill in both directions.
Best described as a chaotic mess.
I know there was an attempt made to stop parents from parking in the entrance lane to pick up their kids after school, but it appears to have been unsuccessful. In the meantime, the safety of our students and staff is placed at risk on a daily basis and it will only be a matter of time before someone is seriously hurt or worse. I know that student safety is a top priority at our schools so I am left to wonder why nothing has been done to address a problem which has existed since day one. I realize that a permanent solution will be costly and may need to involve the City or State. I have spoken with Duluth City Councilor, Joel Sipress, concerning this issue and he has invited me to share my concerns at a Duluth City Council meeting. I am not alone-many Duluth East parents share my fear for our students’ safety and frustration that the situation to this point has been mostly ignored. As a parent of a child who came close to being seriously injured the first week of school, I fail to understand how there is money in the budget to the tune of tens of thousands of dollars to investigate what were characterized as safety issues within your own board and yet something as simple as a flashing sign to better protect hundreds of students and teachers who daily brave the crosswalks at Duluth East is deemed too costly or something out of your realm of responsibility. I realize that our school district has many pressing needs and I truly appreciate your hard work and dedication to making our schools the best they can be. But I am left scratching my head over this one. With all due respect and in the interest of our students’ safety, I invite you to spend a few days after school at Duluth East and witness the situation firsthand. Bonus points if you park in the lot adjacent to the school or attempt to use the crosswalk. Just proceed with caution.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
