Schools

Parking Changes at BHS Make for Better Traffic Flow

The district says simple changes in parking regulations have made traffic flow smoothly and improved safety.

Editor's note: This press release was provided by Valley View School District 365U. 

Traffic flows smoothly and visitors don’t have to park hundreds of yards away from the main entrance at Bolingbrook High School thanks to a simple change in student and staff parking regulations put in place by Principal Michael White.

After meeting with Police Department officials as well as school and district security personnel, White decided the best way to handle what he termed “unsafe teen traffic movement” before and after school was to clear out the parking area adjacent to the football stadium and have students park in the south lots. In addition, he asked staff and students not to park in the “horseshoe” area in front of Door 1, the main entrance to the school.

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The changes have accomplished several things.

Visitors to the school will almost always be able to find a parking place near the main entrance. (The dozens of visitor spaces are marked with a big “V”.)

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Buses, which are operated by the district through what White terms “military logistics,” are arriving and departing in a much smoother fashion.

White also recognized the need for student parking permit enforcement as well as proper signage making it very clear where everyone can and cannot park.

“Before everybody was parking anywhere and everywhere, and we had no way of tracking it,” he said. “We decided how students should register their cars and thus be identified through a placard.”

And, White pointed out, BHS security is aggressively enforcing the new regulations.

The clearing of the lot near the football stadium serves several purposes, most notably leaving room in case the school needs to be evacuated for any reason. It also allows buses to come and go without worry about cross traffic from the lot and allows physical education classes some room to go outside in good weather.

“It works beautifully in the morning and it works beautifully in the afternoon,” White said. “We needed to organize the outside before we organized the inside. Now when our kids come in, it’s a nice flow and when they’re in the building it’s a nice flow. And when they leave it’s a nice flow.”


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