Page 59 - School Planning & Management, July/August 2017

Some drop off systems can increase the need for temporary parking. For first-through-third-grade students, for instance, parents often want to drive their children to school, walk them into the building and check them in for the day. Some schools even require this for the younger students. That creates a need for temporary parking, says Jim LaPosta.
and on visitation schedules.
Armstrong’s system eliminates the need
to park.
“We’ve developed a drive-through sys-
tem,” he says. The parents (or the person authorized to make the pickup) stay in the car and hold out an ID tag that says who the person is, the name of the student and which days he or she is authorized to pick that student up.
“You must develop an organized system like this or you might make a mistake, which can create liability. Suppose you are a principal supervising parents picking
up students after school. Someone may approach you, and tell you that John is supposed to come home with him today. John has been invited to a birthday party, says the person. If you let them drive off to- gether and there is an accident (or worse), you may be liable.
“So, we have a strict system to manage who may pick up students.”
How does this affect parking? If parents don’t have to park and come into the school to pick up children, a school can get by with fewer parking spaces.
On the other hand, some drop off systems can increase the need for tempo- rary parking. For first-through-third-grade students, for instance, parents often want to drive their children to school, walk them into the building and check them in for the day, says Jim LaPosta, a principal and chief architectural officer with JCJ Architecture. Some schools even require this for the younger students. That creates a need for temporary parking.
Parking Spaces for Schools
When planning parking, elementary school planners typically focus on use by staff during the day, plus a few visitors, observes LaPosta. District officials often try to avoid spending money to build parking lots that can accommodate events, observes LaPosta. But it really is important to consider events in design. A big school event at a school with inadequate parking
will cause cars to spill out onto the public road and create a safety hazard.
“But it really is important to consider all issues that affect parking needs for K-12 schools, including large events” says LaPosta. “Schools host sporting events, conferences, PTA meetings and so on. You must also factor such events into estimates of parking needs.
“In addition, high schools need parking space to accommodate students who drive to school. Some districts manage student parking with policies that limit the num- bers of students who can drive.”
One way to limit student drivers is to provide parking areas that are fenced off and require card access. That will encourage those without access cards to take the bus.
Another issue: it is important not to overestimate parking needs. Taxpayers pay attention to projects built with their taxes,
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