Changes coming to parent drop off/pick up at Central Mountain Middle School

By Christopher Miller

BALD EAGLE TOWNSHIP – Due to the safety of students walking to and from home from school and the parent pick-up/drop-off location at Central Mountain Middle School, Principal Dave Romanyshyn outlined a new routine and procedure aimed at improving safety and the flow of traffic.

“Our focus is making sure students are safer, and that the pick up and drop off lines are more efficient,” he explained.

“We are redirecting where the pick up line is. It currently goes in a small loop of a parking lot by the door which is a bottleneck and a safety issue.”

“We are going to redirect it where parents are coming up by BEN Avenue by the tennis courts, and going in if you were going into the Mill Hall Elementary loop, the first straightaway in the loop has a really long stretch of gravel on the right of it, so the plan is for parents to go in there lining up,” Romanyshyn said. “For safety-wise, walkers and pick ups go every which direction, students cross roads wherever they want, this is going to make sure pick up students are coming out and going to the right to get in cars, and walkers will go to the left. We are putting in a crosswalk at the intersection with blinking lights and will have only one crossing for students. The way parents used to go will be blocked off and will be a pedestrian zone now to make sure students are safe.”

Communicating this new method is key, and Principal Romanyshyn is pulling out all the stops.

“In order to communicate this with parents, we started to have a pre-programmed message sign saying “new CMMS parking parent drop off, pick up plan is coming.” We will have a description of it going out to parents through all of our methods: through Dojo, parent messenger, written description, video, a map, to make it clear to help parents. We will also have lots of staff and Officer Motter back there with his car with lights flashing, administrators, and we will be teaching people which way to go.”

School Board Member Elisabeth Lynch added, “since moving in across the street, every year it seems to be get better and better, so I want to thank you because in the past it was a free-for-all, and every year it gets better, you are all fantastic.”