School traffic at the new South Boston Elementary School will be handled through the use of two roads which veer off Hamilton Boulevard, according to Alan Auld, Director of Public Works for the Town of South Boston. Buses will use Houghton Road to deliver students to the back of the new school while parents who drive their children to school will use Parker Avenue.
Auld reported to Town Council members on Monday afternoon during committee work sessions that the Town is working to improve Parker Avenue, prior to the opening of the new elementary school there. He said the street has been widened and will be extended by some 600 feet. By lengthening the street parents will drive past the school and then loop around at the end of the street to come by the front of the school where they can safely drop off their students. Doing this will eliminate the need for parents to have to back up with all the vehicles proceeding along the same path.
Also by having the buses load and unload at the back of the school, the number of vehicles arriving and departing the school around the same time will be reduced. Auld said the Town is looking for school safety grants that will enable it to possibly install a traffic light on Hamilton at a later date, but surveys and engineering studies must be completed before the Town can apply for such monies.