Trooper, school try to create order at NCES entry

NORTH CANAAN — A comprehensive plan to address safety, in terms of traffic and parking, at North Canaan Elementary School is expected to be devised this week.

The school safety committee, which includes Principal Rosemary Keilty, Resident State Trooper Jason St. John, safety officer Brian Ohler and others, was to meet this afternoon (Sept. 11) and bring a plan to the school board at this evening’s meeting. 

First Selectman Douglas Humes will attend, and said  the trooper’s schedule will be adjusted as needed to help implement a new plan.

St. John came out last week to monitor arrival and dismissal times at the Pease Street school, where getting parents and others who transport students into a safe routine has been an ongoing problem that has spanned decades. 

“It’s become a generational thing,” the trooper said in an interview. “Many of the current parents were students themselves at the school, and they are doing what their parents did.”

One recent effort to improve safety included building a new parking lot across the street. It was planned by the selectmen for much-needed visitor and short-term parking. However, the lot seems to be used mainly by school staff who choose not to put their cars in the larger school-and-Town Hall parking lot at the end of the road.

As school began this year, old habits continued. Even with the state trooper there, parents pulled their cars into the bus circle and parked in fire lanes.

This is also the first year there will be no crossing guards anywhere. Safety for children outside the school campus is now entirely the responsibility of parents.

Request to parents

A letter was emailed and sent to families on Sept. 2, the first day of school. Keilty addressed various safety issues and defined parking procedures.

“The rule for parking in the circle and on the street where “no parking” signs are posted:

• Standing in those zones is allowed —meaning that drivers may drop off and pick up in areas where orange cones are present. 

• Anyone who needs to come into the school building is asked to park in the short-term lot or at the school-and-Town Hall lot.

• Unattended vehicles in no parking areas are subject to ticketing by the resident trooper. 

• There are two handicap-designated spots in the circle and one across the street; cars parking there must have a placard. 

• Daytime visitors to the school need to use the parking areas and should not leave a vehicle unattended in the circle in front of the school.

On Friday, Sept. 5, parents who did attempt to park across the street found the lot full. Many of them ended up parking on the adjacent grass. Others parked in restricted areas; some apparently did not understand that the line of cones in front of the bus circle indicated a “no parking” zone. 

St. John patiently spoke with each offender and explained procedure.

Foot traffic

Not all the students are arriving at the school by car or bus. Some are walking or riding bicycles. 

About a dozen children were observed walking on Bragg and Pease Street, most coming from West Main Street. A group of walkers and an older student on a bicycle stayed close together as they neared the Bragg Street crossing, one of many that is currently marked by a traffic cone topped with a pedestrian crossing sign.

Suddenly, the girl on the bicycle yelled out, “Cross!” and then, “Run, run, run!” and then “Stop!” as they all reached the other side.

Part of the plan going forward is to paint crosswalks in various places. That did not happen before school began because the roads surrounding the school were newly chip-sealed. They need about two weeks to settle before lines can be painted.

St. John said that should help a lot. In front of the school, a crosswalk will extend diagonally from the parking lot to the sidewalk that leads to the main entrance. They may decide to keep the cones in place.

He will also recommend moving handicap-designated parking spaces out of the bus circle. 

“It just doesn’t make sense to have them there. The idea is to make sure there is access for fire engines and the ambulance. You just can’t have a parked car there. And people don’t realize those cars are in handicapped spaces. Once they see a car parked in the circle, they think it’s OK for them to park there, too, and then the driveway is blocked.”

St. John, who has been the resident state trooper in NorthCanaan for just over a year, intends to make himself more visible to students and hopes that he will be viewed as a friend and protector. Most school days will find him making a round of the hallways, and he is now trained to teach the DARE program.

“I want students to know me. You get the parents who tell their kids to be good or they’ll report them to the police. Then, when a kid is really in trouble, they’re afraid to go to a police officer.”

Another safety issue he will look for is children left in cars unattended, even for the few minutes it might take a parent to escort a child to the front of the school. It only takes a moment for something bad to happen, St. John said.

It is also against the law to leave vehicles idling for more than three minutes. St. John said he observed many engines left running while parents walked children into the school. Heat or air-conditioning are not needed during those few minutes, but harmful exhaust fumes become concentrated at the height level of children. There are signs posted in the bus circle. St. John said they may post them in the parking lot as well.

Videotaping

Also during the first week of school, longtime (now retired) crossing guard Don Caranci made videos of the parking situation around the school entrance. He hopes that those tapes will spur action by the town and school.