The Livingston Board of Education and Township Council held a joint “Five on Five” meeting on Wednesday, March 27, at Mt. Pleasant Middle School. Among the topics discussed were the safety of sidewalks and crosswalks near Harrison School, use of the building on Monmouth Court, population models, and more.Parking, Sidewalks, and CrosswalksOne of the meeting’s main points of discussion involved the safety surrounding Harrison School during drop-off and dismissal.Beginning this past September, Harrison School implemented a new pick-up policy. Instead of students waiting in the parking lot for their rides to pick them up, parents now must meet their child at the door. This is how Livingston’s other elementary schools have operated, but the narrow roads and limited parking surrounding Harrison has raised concerns.Council member Michael Vieira expressed concerns about the children’s safety when walking through the congested streets. He requested a return to the dismissal policy of previous years, where children would wait in the parking lot for their parent’s vehicle to arrive.Superintendent of schools Matthew Block did not echo Vieira’s sentiments. Block noted that he has observedthe previous dismissal plan, as well as the one Harrison School currently has in place, and believes the new system is much safer. Block recalled seeing “near misses” in the parking lot when students would dart across the lot to their respective vehicles.“While that street isn’t perfect, the way we’re doing it this year is significantly safer than how we were doing it last year,” Block said.The lack of crossing guards stationed at Longacre Drive was also a point of concern for many residents in attendance.Deputy Mayor Ed Meinhardt suggested potentially putting together a small committee to try to resolve these issues.When these potential safety concerns were brought to the Board’s attention, Block made several trips to Harrison School to witness how the dismissal process was going. He noted it seemed increasingly safe when compared to the process of previous years.During the public comment portion of the meeting, many residents of Longacre Drive, Briarcliff Road, and other streets adjacent to Harrison School voiced their concerns about safety during dismissals.Sara Klein of 6 Longacre Drive stated the issue there is a “safety crisis.” She handed out packets containing photographs taken throughout the current school year that she said highlighted the unsafe andhazardous conditions students and parents are being asked to walk through.Similarly, Michelle Thuy of 16 McCall Drive read a letter signed by ...
