A section of Burgess Avenue is closed next to the new Maplewood Richmond Heights ECC to finish grading and landscaping, which makes the new entrance to the school inaccessible from there. As a result, some parents are parking where they shouldn’t, and then walking their kids to school, according to posts on Facebook.
One said she watched a mom on Wednesday park her car in front of a driveway on Comfort Avenue and walk her to school. Another said a car did a parallel parking job on top of a traffic cone. (Included photos below)
Can’t the school change the start time a little later to avoid some of these problems? We have staggered beginning shift hours at work to avoid the normal 8 to 5 rush to get in the front door at work. Can’t some sort of carpool be created to help elimanate all the single passenger cars? Can’t the construction be worked on during the evening and night so as not to tie up traffic?
Wow! Who’d of thunk the reactions to this article would be so angry? I appreciate this article, since I am one of those who drop off and pick up ECC students. I didn’t know driveways were being blocked, but I would suggest letting the police call a tow truck. We all know, or should, that we don’t block someone’s driveway. It HAS been a hassle getting into the school’s parking lot to drop off and pick up the children. I feel for the people on those streets near the school. I would think the school would have written it into the building contract that the workers and workers’ vehicles cannot be there/work during drop-off and pick-up times. It seems a bit late to change that now. It’s also difficult to make the first 90-degree turn after driving into the lower parking lot, heading up toward the 2nd lot. Perhaps two spots could be no parking spots, so it’s not so narrow; or perhaps the workers’ vehicles could be parked off-lot. It would be nice to make it better for everyone.
First, parking in front of someone’s driveway is a total jerk move. Inexcusable. Still, I’m wishing this article had a lot more detail, such as some chats with parents and follow-up with the school administration. Parking for morning drop-off is a nightmare right now because (1) everything around the ECC is still under construction; (2) enrollment in the preschool is up (because we now have more classrooms), thus creating more traffic; and (3) the main parking lot is completely full by 7:45 (class starts at 8:00) and people are still coming into the parking lot to drop off their preschoolers, who all have to be signed into their classes by parents. Yes, some K-2 kids are being dropped off, but most ride the bus. The school has been as clear as possible with their instructions to parents, but it’s still going to be chaotic for a while until the construction is done and Burgess reopens. Meanwhile, driving conditions in the neighborhood seem to change daily, so we’re all improvising every time we come to the ECC. And yes, the brand new ECC parking lot is already too small. We’re all going to have to be considerate to each other while the ECC handles these growing pains. Frustrating? Yes. Worth getting irate at the school and/or parents? No.
Doug, did you get all the clicks you were hoping for when you posted this piece of “news”?
Call me misinformed, but I thought 40 South News was a place to learn about MRH issues/news/events/happenings. Instead it often seems like a place for a certain generation to vent their frustrations of “the world is going to pot” variety. Let’s be honest, if the world is going to crap, it’s not the millennials’ fault. We haven’t been on the planet long enough to effect that kind of change. And reading these posts, looks like the values my mother taught me — don’t judge others, love one another, put yourself in others’ shoes — have stuck with me better than some of my neighbors on this thread.
Take a look in the mirror folks, we’re all doing the best we can.
And Doug, if you want to appeal to your entire constituency, you might want to chat with some of those parents who had to deal with the trash trucks, long lines of cars, and limited school parking, before posting this type of article. Just a thought.
Oh, Millennial Mom, don’t blame the older folks, and don’t let it rile you. One day, when your much older and your grand-kids are being teleported to school, you’ll think back and say, “I remember when we had to DRIVE our kids to school and had to deal with traffic and construction, and parking lots and got called out for not obeying the traffic laws during these times….and still had to try to get to work without being late!”
It’s been that way for generations, and will probably never change. Just wait and see, you’ll do the same thing one day. hehe 🙂
ps. I love Doug’s articles….
It’s called “helicopter parenting”. Now that school has started I have to navigate 3-4 cars sitting idling at every bus stop as these parents find it necessary to watch their child board the bus before they can begin their day….
Parent should have to be present for kids to get on and off the bus for MRHECC. So, not helicopter parenting but following ECC rules. So sorry that the safety of CHILDREN is so inconvenient for you. I suggest leaving the house a few minutes earlier if you’re running so late that the safety of others has become so upsetting to you.
Totally agree Colleen. Wow. Can’t believe the level of judging on this post. Our 2 yr old is not lazy because we needed to drop her off. Seems like there are lots of people On this post who feel the need to think themselves superior. Take a look in the mirror folks, you’re not perfect. We’re all doing the best we can.
You all act like you’ve never been a parent about to drop their kid off at preschool for the first time in 3 months. And throw in closed streets and a new parking lot. It’s like they’re trying to make it as difficult as possible to experience that moment of bliss of walking back out the door of the school – child free… Surprised some didn’t park on the grass.
2-3 year olds? That is day care not school. Yes the parents need to hand them off.
seems the Parents need to be dropped off at school, not the kids, learn to read and follow basic rules!!!
It also didn’t help that Wednesday is also trash pickup day and that Republic Services refuses to adjust their schedule by 30 minutes or an hour so they’re not picking up in the area around ECC at the same time students are being dropped off. It’s not uncommon to see 5, 10, 15 or more cars trapped as the trash trucks inch along. Once the trash tracks stop blocking traffic we parents panic as we have to drop our kids off late.
Supposedly the school district has reached out to Republic and they won’t do anything to correct the problem.
It sucks when people don’t follow basic guidelines, but the school is doing all they can to make this process run smoothly- including calling all parents, sending email and snail mail discussing pickup and release procedures. Unfortunately, like a lot of people in this world, the rules don’t apply to them and can cause problems for everyone else, but the majority of this new process is running well despite a few idiots and hiccups
They also have a problem with parents parking in no parking zones and the bus drop off lane along Oakland.
I swear they have a dozen school district people in safety vests working the traffic and guiding people along with Maplewood police every morning around the ECC. The only solution is to send two dozen out.
Wednesday was also the first day that the pre school segment of the ECC was open. So a number of kids were going to school for the very first time. While what the parents did wasn’t right, it was an unusual circumstance.
Plus it doesn’t help the construction crews are blocking the streets and pouring concrete at that time for the new sidewalks. Or that lanes of Big Bend were closed for repaving and making people late due to heavier traffic than usual. It would be nice if they could wait until 9am to start working.
What a total mess!
And that, boys and girls is why children do not follow rules at school. Parents are modelling that sort of “the rules apply to everyone ELSE but me” mentality. No wonder the world has gone to crap.
Jane Doe you are so correct. Children should be walking to school except for Kindergarten. Do you ever wonder why some children become overweight?
Exactly. Why can’t they take the bus or walk. In my day parents seldom if ever drove their kids to school because they had to be at work bright and early.
The children at the ECC whose parents are needing to park and walk them in are preschool students (ages 2-5). The K/1/2 students at the ECC typically ride the bus or are dropped off in the drive-through lane. The prek students need to be signed in to their classrooms because they are simply too young to bring themselves safely to school by themselves.
Yes, the parking is an issue, but the school is aware and working towards a solution. It is improving every day. The solution is not to call preschools obese and lazy for not walking themselves to school.
This country has gone downhill since they passed those dang child labor laws. Snowflakes!