Hollister
– To improve student safety and increase access to the new dual
language academy, Hollister School District administrators are
hoping to improve parking and student dropoff at Gabilan Hills
School.
Hollister – To improve student safety and increase access to the new dual language academy, Hollister School District administrators are hoping to improve parking and student dropoff at Gabilan Hills School.
At tonight’s Board of Trustees meeting, school administrators will seek board approval to address the parking problem at Gabilan Hills by contracting with Kelley Engineering & Surveying for construction of several new loading and unloading zones at the school.
If approved, the project would be completed before the start of the next school year and would ease traffic congestion along Santa Ana Road, something parents and staff members feel is important for student safety.
The project would create a new bus turnout zone and transform the old bus loading zone into a second entrance that parents could pull into to drop off students.
The preliminary estimate for the parking improvement project is $170,000.
“Safety is the No. 1 issue, because the whole traffic issue at arrival and dismissal is just a disaster,” said Gabilan Hills Principal Dennis Kurtz.
There have already been two serious traffic accidents this year in front of the school, Kurtz said. One resulted in a ambulance being called to the school, although no students were seriously injured. On top of Kurtz’s duties as principal, he has taken it upon himself to direct traffic to make the arrival and dismissal time safer for students.
Even so, traffic is still problematic for parents and students.
“As a parent, it can be somewhat chaotic in the morning to say the least,” said Angela Scarcella, who has two daughters at Gabilan Hills. “I’m hoping that this will be a way to alleviate some of the main traffic going into the parking lot.”
Because Gabilan Hills is located directly off Santa Ana Road, parents dropping off their students in the morning and picking them up in the afternoon can cause serious congestion on the road.
Jack Bachofer, the chief business official for the Hollister School District, said the school is hoping the new parking project would mitigate the traffic problems.
If approved, the project completion will coincide with the opening of the new International Dual Language Academy at Gabilan Hills. The changes will also open up a second entrance for the school, so students enrolled in the dual language academy will be able to enter near their classrooms.
“Since that’s going to be a separate school, we want students to feel like they’re coming into their school. We want to send a clear message that this is a whole school; it’s not just something in the back,” Kurtz said.
Alice Joy covers education for the Free Lance. She can be reached at 831-637-5566 ext. 336 or at [email protected]
