Hillcrest Primary School officials are interested in increasing the size of the school’s parking lots, but it might be at the expense of green space.
Shawano School District maintenance director Jeff Easter presented the idea Wednesday to the Buildings and Grounds Committee as part of a list of future capital projects the district should consider funding.
Easter said the suggestion came from Principal Troy Edwards. The lots are due for resealing, but officials are looking at expanding one of the three existing lots to accommodate visitor traffic and future staff expansion when the school’s population increases.
The back parking lot would be expanded to accommodate parents of 4K children, as the main door there would easily provide access for 4K students to be picked up by parents. The lot is currently filled with staff cars; Easter said he counted 91 around noon one day.
District Administrator Gary Cumberland expressed concern about maintaining the green space at the school, to which Easter said it was possible some of the green space could be sacrificed if the parking lot expands.
The expansion is eyed as a possible measure to ease the problems before and after school, when there’s a traffic jam before and after school. Some parents remain parked in the front lot as they wait for their children to enter or exit, and there is limited space for several hundred vehicles to come in and out.
Cumberland questioned if expanding the back parking lot was necessary for a problem that occurs for 15 minutes twice a day.
“What happens once that 15 minutes is up is you’re going to have all this blacktop,” Cumberland said. “When people drive by, that leaves an impression.”
School Board member Jay Jones suggested an alternative solution — having staff direct traffic so that things flow smoothly in the morning and afternoon.
Easter said he and Edwards are looking at the possibility of having a pick-up/drop-off zone created once the resealing is done, as all the lines will have to be repainted anyway.
“We can set up a square area and paint it yellow. For the first couple of weeks, we can have someone there to say, ‘No parking,’ and they should get the hint,” Easter said.
Easter warned that parking lot expansion could be inevitable if the school’s student population continues to grow. The school has a capacity of 1,000 students; this year, the student count is 700, an increase from last year of 75 students.
“We have to think worst case scenario. If you reach capacity in five or 10 years, you’re going to have a lot more cars going through,” Easter said.
There is currently a shed in the path of the back lot expansion, but it can easily be moved, according to Easter.
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