Angled parking now prohibited at school

By Scott Bellile

Parents must follow new procedures as they drop off and pick up their kids at Parkview Elementary.

The space directly in front of the school, along the east side of Werner-Allen Road, is no longer an angled parking lot.

Motorists can parallel park there and use it as a quick drop-off and pick-up site, but anyone who accompanies the child into the building must park elsewhere.

New London Police Capt. Chris Gregory said motorists may park on the west side of Werner-Allen (the southbound lane) and use the newly painted crosswalk to get to the school. They can also continue parking on Jennings and Millard streets.

“We just don’t want people backing [out] when there are people trying to cross the street in all different locations,” Gregory said. “And then backing into the lane of travel, it just inhibits the vehicles trying to go north on Werner-Allen there. It just causes a great amount of congestion.”

Joe Marquardt, business services director for the School District of New London, said the district has been aware of the traffic problem for several years now. The changes take after a similar drop-off zone that was recently implemented at New London Intermediate/Middle School.

“I think at the end of the day it’s going to be very good for our parents and kids,” Marquardt said of the changes at Parkview.

While Gregory said collisions rarely happen by Parkview, the changes will be safer for pedestrians and motorists alike traveling not just Werner-Allen but also Hatten Park.

In the past, cars would bypass the heavy school traffic by driving through Hatten. There he said many drove double the 15-mile-per-hour speed limit.

Police officers will be outside Parkview the first week helping motorists. Afterward they’ll transition to enforcement and may ticket vehicles parked in the drop-off zone.