School traffic crush worrisome

At Liberty Lake Elementary, the toughest challenge for the 733 young students might not be the schoolwork – it might be navigating the sea of cars that awaits them outside.

When the school bell rings, hundreds of students come pouring out the doors and immediately encounter more than 150 cars and SUVs, many of them driven by cell-phone using parents picking up their students. The scene almost resembles a mall parking lot at Christmas, and students might someday get hurt, said a crossing guard at the school’s busiest intersection.

“I want to put up a sign with the page in the driver’s manual that says kids have the right of way,” said Cathy Franks, who shepherds students through the busy intersections.

To increase safety a few years ago, the school began a valet pick-up system, where parents could drive up to the front door of the school and pick up their children.

However, cars lining up for the system often park on the right side of Molter Road, instead of queuing up on Boone Avenue. When cars stop on Molter, they can sometimes block the entire street, and often the cars make it hard to see who is in the crosswalks, Franks said.

“It came to our attention recently that the system wasn’t working as well as it had been,” said Melanie Rose, spokeswoman for Central Valley School District.

At a Liberty Lake City Council meeting last Tuesday, Councilwoman Judi Owens, who works at the school, said something must be done.

Liberty Lake Police Chief Brian Asmus said he will first try to educate people about the problems with stopping on Molter Road, and if warnings do not work, tickets might have to be written.

“We’ve been out trying to direct traffic,” he said. “The response is usually not very positive.”

Last Wednesday, Officers Clint Gibson and Taj Wilkerson watched the afternoon melee. Though their police cruiser caused many to slow down, they know that police cannot be present every afternoon.

“It’s a problem that has potential to be a hazard,” Gibson said. “A lot of kids ride bikes but I don’t think enough are taking bikes or riding the bus.”

The storm of cars only occurs for about five minutes, twice a day, Wilkerson said. When school starts and when it lets out, traffic gets dangerous.

After the crowds cleared, the two officers researched new areas in which cars could park while parents wait for their children. Rose said the district is planning to build a crushed-asphalt parking lot on property it owns east of the building.

For now, the Mormon Church has offered its parking lot and many parents are using it. Some parents are parking in Pavillion Park and encouraging their children to meet them there, Rose said.