This photo shows the visitor parking lot at Salem School under construction. The area to the right where there are signs for vistor and disabled parking will become a student drop-off area. The lot is being extended to the left of this photo to compensate for the lost spots and add more parking.
Parents that drop off their students for classes at Salem School will find a new parking lot arrangement this year — one which modifies the familiar circle drive.
As part of the school’s renovation the visitor parking lot is being extended to the west. That has allowed the school to create a longer drop off area along the sidewalk adjacent to the school and in the circle drive. The area that will now be student drop-off used to house visitor and disabled parking along the eastern edge of the lot.
Cars coming into the lot to drop-off will now take a right sooner and curve around the perimeter of the lot, district administrator David Milz explained. Students will then be able to be dropped off along the sidewalk or in the circle.
“Cars will still want to pull up as far as possible,” Milz said.
Cars will exit the same way as before.
The hope is that with more drop off space some of the congestion seen in years past in the tighter circle will be alleviated, Milz said.
“In my five years that has been a top complaint of parents,” Milz said of congestion in the circle drive.
And the parking lot extension will add about 30 parking spots.
Buses also will still load and unload in the parking lot to the north of the visitors lot. But if the addition/renovation project continues to operate with a surplus, Milz said there are designs on creating a bus exit and entrance from that lot, through the auxiliary parking lot, around to the west of the softball fields and connecting with Highway AH. If that entrance/exit could be created, buses and cars would each have their own access to the school property.
