A PTA mom at M.T. Reilly Elementary School is tired of parents parking along curbs, idling in carpool lanes and straddling crosswalks when dropping children off and picking them up from school. The problem, she says, is other parents — and even buses — having to unload children in the street, which forces them to dart through traffic to get to school. And parents aren’t the only ones fuming. A woman who lives on Vickery near Lakehill Preparatory School is fed up with people speeding down her street — including hurried, angry parents riding her bumper as she adheres to the speed limit.
Does a “no parking” sign apply if the driver remains in the stationary car?
According to the transportation code section 545.302, an operator may not park an occupied or unoccupied vehicle where a sign prohibits parking, except temporarily to load or unload merchandise or passengers. There are exceptions to this, such as emergencies, mechanical problems, complying with a police officer’s directions or traffic control device, or when avoiding a conflict with other traffic is necessary.
So parents can idle their cars in a “no parking” zone while waiting a few minutes for kids?
That is where issues arise, and words like “temporarily” is where officer discretion comes into play.
Can police officers patrol school parking lots?
We can patrol anywhere that’s open to the public, and a school parking lot is. But as far as enforcing school policies on school parking lots, we can’t do that. We can enforce laws.
Are there any laws that can keep parents from blocking carpool lanes at schools, or do we have to rely on common courtesy?
Some of both. It depends on whether it’s a public street or on school property. If it’s a carpool lane on school property, that’s pretty much under the school’s control. If it’s out on the street, it depends on the street signage.
Do patrol officers stick close to schools in the mornings and afternoons when children are being picked up and dropped off?
There are no specific assignments for that, but all officers are aware of when school is starting and letting out and pay attention to those issues. If there has been an issue at any of the schools or major crime concerns, then yes, we’re going to be closer. School zones and the safety of the kids is very important, and when we get complaints of speeding and traffic-related issues, we’ll have officers out there or contact our traffic division and have them out there also to do extra enforcement.
Are there shortcuts to schools along neighborhood streets that police keep an eye on?
We have people who speed through certain neighborhood streets to get to or from school areas, and what’s hard is that a lot of the people who are doing this are parents. People are always running late to school, so they’re always in a hurry, and you’ve got to remember that it’s not just your kid in the backseat — there are all these other kids.
And kids are going to act like kids — they’re busy talking when walking to school, and they come out of anywhere. They’re not just crossing crosswalks. Patience has to be exercised around school zones because people are focusing on their kids, not necessarily their driving habits.
What if residents want to add road humps to slow down traffic around schools?
They would need to contact the public works and transportation department, 214-670-4024. Two-thirds of a street’s residents must sign a petition before it can happen.
