by Mike Knaak
The change to student drop-off traffic at Pine Meadow Elementary School planned for Jan. 2 has been delayed until signage can be printed.
No date has been set for the change that would block left turns on Fifth Street N.
The change is needed, school and city officials said, because traffic is backing up on Pinecone Road as far south as City Hall around the 7:50 a.m. drop-off time. Officials are worried about traffic congestion and potential rear-end collisions, especially during bad weather.
Drivers will no longer be allowed to turn left from Fifth Street North into the parking lot and barriers will placed in the middle of Fifth Street to block the entrance.
Instead of turning left from Fifth Street into the school parking lot, drivers will head to the east end of Fifth Street, make a U-turn and line up for drop off facing west. In addition, the drop-off time will be extended by five minutes. Students will be allowed to enter the building at 7:45 a.m. and sit inside by the entrance until 7:50 a.m. when they will go to class.
