Sitting at the bend of Kingston Road in a tucked away neighborhood in Cherry Hill, Kingston Elementary School has been the location of safety concerns in recent months.
Arrival and dismissal from school were described as a chaotic scene by parents. From cars parking illegally on one side of the road to vehicles going both ways down the street, it created a hazard for children walking to their homes.
However, township and school officials appear to have reached a solution to improve the situation.
At its March 11 work session, the Cherry Hill Board of Education passed a resolution to ask the township to install traffic control signs at Kingston Elementary School. The new signs prohibit left-hand turns onto Kingston Road, effectively forcing all cars exiting the school to turn right.
The passage of the resolution was the final step in the installation of the signs. The school district hopes the new signs will improve traffic flow and safety once parents get used to the new pattern.
The school district and township worked collaboratively in putting up the signs. Barbara Wilson, the public information officer for Cherry Hill schools, said the district needed the township’s permission to put up the signs.
“Because the street in question is under township jurisdiction, arrangements had to be made with the township to put them up,” Wilson said.
Meetings were held between members of the neighborhood, parents, school officials, township officials and traffic safety officials. Township director of communications Bridget Palmer said finding a solution was a matter of striking a balance between the many parties involved.
“(The signs) were a direct result of meetings we had with residents who came out to the earlier (council meeting),” Palmer said. “We had to strike a balance with the convenience of the parents because we know they’re dropping off their kids and the residents who live in the neighborhood are impacted.”
Kate Laskowski brought the issue to the township during the Jan. 27 council meeting. Since then, she and other parents had meetings to try to resolve the issue.
Even though the new traffic flow has been popular, there is still an issue of illegally parked cars on Kingston Road. Parents are unable to leave their cars parked on the street to walk their kids to school without the risk of being ticketed. There is no parking permitted on either side of the road from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on school days.
“What had been happening is that parents, as they drop their kids off, have been parking, getting out and walking the kids off,” Palmer said. “It was creating issues with buses getting on Kingston Road and the cars coming down both ways on Kingston Road.”
Laskowski said the parents want parking allowed on the street, but the township refused to consider the idea for safety reasons. She also said residents on the street are in support of allowing parking.
“They adamantly want parking allowed on that street,” Laskowski said of the residents. “They’ve had issues with getting ticketed and having to move their cars early in the morning so they won’t get a ticket.”
“This has been an issue long enough,” Laskowski said. “They mentioned they did a survey back in 1997. This has clearly been an issue.”
Even though parking is still illegal, the township and school district are hoping the new signs will help improve the flow of traffic in and out of the school.
The township and school district are also looking at solutions to improve traffic flow in the future.
“I was very appreciative with all of the attention the mayor’s office gave,” Laskowski said.
