ALPINE, Utah — The Alpine City Council faced plenty of questions and concerns Tuesday from several parents of Mountainville Charter School students unhappy about recent changes to dropping off and picking up their children.
The school, with more than 700 students, has been a mainstay on Alpine’s Main Street for 20 years. But unannounced parking restrictions have many people angry about how those changes happened and worried about how they may affect safety.
According to parents, for years after school let out, students typically walked about a block away to Legacy Park, where many parents would park along Main Street and pick them up.
But as the city has grown, traffic congestion after school has increased, leaving nearby residents upset. In the middle of the night, at around 2:30 a.m. on August 16, city officials put barriers in front of the school, preventing left-hand turns out of the property. They also placed orange cones with notices along Main Street, in front of the park, restricting parking between 2:30 and 3:30 p.m.
School officials and parents said they were blindsided and are still not sure who gave the order.
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As a parent of a Mountanville student, Addy Squires spoke during the public comment period of Tuesday’s city council meeting and said she wanted answers.
“I’ve actually filed a records request through the city to try to find out. I know there were text messages and emails. Someone decided to do this one day, and I think we deserve to hear what happened there," said Squired.
Teacher Kristen Trelz has been at the school for 18 years and is concerned that traffic changes and parking restrictions mean many children have to walk into nearby neighborhoods to get picked up, which means crossing at least one street without a crosswalk or crossing guard.
“We’re just hoping that by showing up and being a presence at the city council meeting that maybe they will realize that this is a bigger concern and it’s not going away,” Trelz said.
Those who showed up and spoke out at the city council meeting hope to get the matter placed as a regular agenda item at a future council meeting later this month, where they can ask specific questions and hopefully get answers.
