News - Local
Police to ticket parents for school traffic jams
Posted: Nov 1, 2010 12:50 PM by Andy Koen
Updated: Nov 1, 2010 12:59 PM
The traffic tie-ups around a Colorado Springs elementary school have gotten bad enough that the police are now passing out parking tickets.
Only about 10 cars actually fit in the curb cut-in at Pioneer Elementary School. Consequently, there is generally a long line of cars on Woodland Hills Drive each afternoon waiting to pick up students.
The police department has told Academy District 20 that, technically the drivers in that line are parked illegally, even if they're still sitting in the car. On Friday a note went home to parents advising them that the department would begin writing tickets today.
D-20 spokeswoman Nanette Anderson says many parents are perturbed by the ticketing, particularly because the decision arose without warning.
"This was a workable solution for several years," Anderson said. "We want to do the safest thing for students. This was a very safe dismissal process, although we recognize it is inconvenient for traffic in that area for about 15 minutes a day."
Parents are encouraged to park in the neighborhood near the school and walk to pick up their children, or to simply arrange to pick them up later in the afternoon.
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