Jeff Santacruce, an engineer with Weston & Sampson, presents three possible solutions to the problem of traffic backing up for pickup at Elm Street School in Laconia. Members of both the city council and school board heard the presentation on Nov. 19, which took place in the Huot Career and Technical Center’s culinary facilities. (Adam Drapcho/The Laconia Daily Sun photo)
The traffic that backs up for pick-up time at Elm Street School in Laconia is a big problem — but is it a million-dollar problem? That’s the question the city’s council and school board will have to determine, after hearing the results of an engineering study last week.
An engineer presented three solutions during a school board meeting on Nov. 19. City councilors and the city manager were also seated for the meeting.
Jeff Santacruce, traffic engineering leader for Reading, Massachusetts-based firm Weston & Sampson, said he saw the problem take shape on Elm Street with his own eyes.
“Official pick-up is at 3, we observed cars lining up as early as 2:30. By 2:45, it’s backing up down the road,” Santacruce said, adding the back-up can sometimes fill Elm Street from the school down to Laconia Country Club, a distance of 1,900 feet.
It isn’t just a problem for people picking up elementary students, Santacruce said.
“A lot of people trying to continue down Elm Street get stuck in that queue,” he said. The situation can become dangerous when drivers, previously caught in the line, take out their frustration on the throttle once they get a chance to proceed.
Santacruce offered the city three possible solutions, two of which would construct a new road for parents to use to pick up their children. A third would carve out a dedicated turning lane on Elm Street. The first two solutions would likely cost more than $1 million and would significantly address the problem. The third would cost less than half of the first two, though it would likely only relieve some of the traffic pressure, not resolve it.
The first two options each made use of the Bond Beach Road, which skirts the back side of the elementary school athletic fields before turning toward Lake Opechee. The city owns all the land between the beach and the school, making it an attractive possibility to build a road to connect the beach road to Elm, passing through the school campus on the way.
The first option, which is favored by Weston & Sampson, would build a road along the southern edge of the school’s fields and through its main parking lot. This option would also require some water management, as they would have to convert a runoff pond into a covered water storage area, and there are some additional stormwater considerations along the length of the new road. Drivers coming to pick up a student would drive down Bond Beach, then turn toward the school and line up until students are dismissed. Option 1 would cost about $1 million, according to estimates calculated by Weston & Sampson.
The second option is similar, except the new road would follow the northern edge of the school fields and connect to Elm just north of the building. This proposal is slightly costlier, due to the added complication of some ledge on that part of the property, and would route idling cars to within 20 feet of the building, leading to concerns about air quality when classroom windows are open. Option 2 would cost an estimated $1.13 million.
The third option would cost the least — around $400,000 — and feature a dedicated turning lane for cars waiting to pick up a student. This lane would only offer enough space for about 33 vehicles, which would reduce but not eliminate back-ups on Elm Street.
An additional benefit to either options 1 or 2, Santacruce noted, was that constructing a new road would grant a new means for emergency vehicles to access the school, which is currently only accessible via Elm. With that in mind, plans drawn up for the roadway call for it to be 24 feet wide, which is enough space for a fire truck to pass even if cars are parked in one direction.
School and city leaders listened to the presentation and didn’t make any comments afterward.
In a telephone interview, Tony Felch, city councilor for Ward 6, said he knew well the problem, as he himself had been stuck in school traffic, and had heard from his constituents who had seen close calls caused by drivers trying to escape the jam. He agreed Option 1 was the best of the three, given it was less complicated than Option 2, while the third option would be an unwise expenditure as it didn’t address the problem.
Kirk Beattie, city manager, said the next step would be for the school district and city to decide who should pay for the project — school, city or both — and for the responsible party or parties to vote on a final decision by early spring.
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