Mill Run Parking

Anybody noticed the giant boulders clustered on the side of the driving circle at Mill Run? Apparently Principal Vickers is planning to spread them out around the rim of the driving circle to prohibit parents and visitors to the school from parking on the grassy area. With parking so limited as it is at Mill Run this will force parents and whoever shows up for school events or sporting events and practices at the school in the evenings and weekends to park on Ridgeway Drive which is pretty much the main roadway into Southern Walk. As if traffic isn't bad enough on Ridgeway in the morning with school commuters and regular commuters. This won't help matters much.

 

There's actually plenty of parking over at the middle school that they can use, people just have to walk.

 

Yes, Neilz if only things were that simple. People dropping off their children at Mill Run in the morning and picking them up in the afternoon are not going to park at Eagle Ridge and walk, nor are they going to do that when Mill Run has an event during the day. People are going to park on Ridgeway Drive and make an already congested roadway even more difficult especially for children who walk to school. I also doubt that in the evenings when parents who have kids practicing on the lawn in front of Mill Run will park at Eagle Ridge (which is behind Mill Run) and walk to the grassy area in front of the school bordering Ridgeway Drive. They are going to park where???? On Ridgeway Drive!!! What we are talking about here is that the principal's decision to alter the way people park on the school grounds is going to impact the Southern Walk community as a whole every single day of the week.

 

Well, IMHO better than having a crappy looking grounds and making it difficult for buses to maneuver. And perhaps the reduced number of cars there will make it a bit safer too.

 

T8erman - I am a little confused about your posting. How is it difficult for buses to maneuver if they have their own designated lane at the school? How will the number of cars be reduced? Same number of cars only cars are now parking in the street. Do you think cars parked along the street in front of the school makes things "safer" for kids who walk to school? Just wondering.

 

While it's true that buses have their "own" lane, when there's an event & cars are parked on both sides of the lane, it's very difficult to get a bus in/out. I'm assuming that's part of the reason but also the look of the school grounds may play into their decision as well.

 

I don't know what a truckload of Rocks Costs but couldn't the money have been used better elsewhere? If the rocks were donated then the point is moot.

 

I would think it would certainly be safer than the masses of cars strewn in the grassy areas during morning drop off, who then have to walk into the oncoming traffic (sometimes twice, depending on which side of the road parked on ) of those that are in line at the designated drop off area for car riders and disrupt the traffic flow unnecessarily.

Additionally, there is a designated arrival pattern for walkers, with the main intersection aided/controlled by a law enforcement officer and the crossing guard closer to the school.

Curtailing the parking on the grass during drop-off is something that has been needed for some time...

 

yuck it does not look good.

 

For walkers at Mill Run, there is only a crossing guard and he is not aided by a law enforcement officer. The crossing guard is only on duty for the elementary school students. Eagle Ridge students are on their own when crossing Ridgeway Drive. Parking on Ridgeway Drive during Mill Run events could pose a problem for them.

 

The rocks were free.
I met with Paul Vickers the other day about this.
I suggested plan to make the "loop" in front of the school bigger. This would allow for an extra row of parking. He liked the idea. I intend to address the School Board about this in the next few weeks. If they want to continue stuffing over 1000 kids into Mill Run, they need to have the parking to accomodate it.

 

Just a side issue, but what ever happened to "kids walking to school"? I can understand dropping one's kids off when the weather sucks but the number of parents who give their kids a ride EVERY day is a tad ridiculous IMHO.

When we lived near Hillside, there were several parents who drove their kids to school and lived LESS than a few hundred yards away!

Less cars, less safety concerns, gas saved, fewer posts....

 

T8erman -- Have you seen the way people drive around here?!? It's not 1980 anymore. It's just not safe to have your kids walk to school.

 

I hate to say this, but most of those drivers are usually mom's in vans taking their kids to school, and blowing through the school zone speed limits.

Dare I say it .. is this a Catch 22??

 

T8erman-
A large percentage of the kids at Mill Run, in fact most of them, are from outside of Broadlands or are well outside walking distance.

 

I'll state the obvious ... don't they have access to the school bus routes? One less car on the road, one less car to speed through the school zones !!

 

If this is the biggest issue at the school, I guess this must be a good sign that the school is doing an excellent job. People always feel the need to focus on the most miniscule issues, and personally, the amount of time that is spent by people writing on this blog about these rocks could be spent actually parking and walking their kids the short distance from the Middle School parking lot or Southern Walk street to the school's entrance. Why don't we as parents set an example for our kids and show them that walking is a good thing and on top of that, we will have a few extra minutes in the morning with our children. Without cars swerving in and out of the parking lot, it is also much safer for our children. On the other hand, those that have the issues with this, isn't the school bus an option?? There's my two cents.

 

I wonder how many kids are at Hillside vs. Mill Run - in lower grades the ratio needs to be smaller. I am surprised they are stuffing 1000 kids into that school - it seems too small. Isn't there another elementary school that just opened - hasn't that reduced the amount?

 

Mgh29 this is not a "miniscule issue" issue for people who live in the neighborhood surrounding the school. On Wednesday, for example, Mill Run had a morning event and cars were parked up and down Ridgeway Drive. Must it be said again the Ridgeway is one of the main roadways in Southern Walk and handles car traffic and school walkers. Parking along Ridgeway Drive causes problems for children walking to middle school as they have NO crossing guard, NO pavement markers denoting a school crossing, NO posted signs saying "children crossing" and two speed signs with the WRONG speed limit posted. Middle school children in the lower part of the Southern Walk do not have a school bus available to them, so the school bus in not an option.

 

School Buses cause their own problems. I have never seen anywhere else in Virginia where a school bus will stop in the middle of a 4 lane road and drop kids off. In Westmoreland and even Blacksburg, they pulled off into the side streets.