The “Water Cooler” is a feature on Claycord.com where we ask you a question or provide a topic, and you talk about it.
The “Water Cooler” will be up Monday-Friday at noon.
Every school throughout Claycord has issues with drivers not obeying laws when picking up/dropping off their children.
In your opinion, what laws are being broken on a daily basis in front of the school?
Also, is the drop-off/pick-up situation at your child’s school safe, or does it need to be changed? It’s ok to name the school if you want.
Talk about it….
26 comments
News last night. Pittsburg is on it.
https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/Pittsburg-Police-Issue-Dozens-of-Traffic-Tickets-in-School-Zone-557512941.html
I have no idea what laws are being broken, because I grew up walking to school, and so did our kids. I let our kids walk to school (with siblings and friends) even when I was a stay at home mom – in a generation where parents were driving kids to school. Getting to and from school on your own builds confidence in a child, and it’s good exercise. It’s a win-win situation.
Even Marc Klass (whose only child was kidnapped and murdered) recommends walking to school, as long as you use the buddy system.
If parents want to drive their children – that’s their decision. But I think they’re overly protective, and they don’t realize the detrimental effects until it’s too late.
They should park by my house. The mommies run stop signs and speed all the time.
It truly is amazing how people CAN NOT simply just follow the rules the school has and SLOW DOWN to keep our children safe…. Just yesterday this silver Honda Pilot was pulled over by WCPD after doing an illegal u-turn in front of the school after they had just dropped there child off in the drop off line… Best part is, this person did it right in front of the officer… goes to show that, that person truly was not paying any attention to there surroundings!!! I say the elementary school my daughter goes to the drop off line is safe, its the parent’s/other drivers who are in a rush and are not following the rules to help keep the drop off/ pick up line safe. I also have one in high school and man those kids who are driving are sure driving fast to get the hell out of school. So yeah I would say laws are being broken on a daily basis. Actually its the worst when it is the beginning of the school year, then it seems to calm down after a few months.
The old Glenbrook Middle School on Olivera is horrible and unsafe. Every afternoon, cars arrive to pick up the kids. Starting at the 242 off ramp, they line up, stopping in the red zones, blocking crosswalks, parking everywhere possible along Olivera. It makes it very difficult to see the kids or other cars in front of the school. And nothing will probably be done until someone gets seriously hurt.
Daily speeding to get to the school because they are late, the worst is the parents that are trying to make it to pick up their kids from the Daycare by 6:00 pm, I live by Highlands Elementary and those parents race down the street park on the wrong side of the street doesn’t matter to them who they may be inconveniencing as long as they make it on time. School parents are bad, but the Day Care parents are the worst!
The odds of getting a traffic citation are slim and none anywhere in CCC or Concord. Enforcement of existing traffic laws would be a start. And then there are the 20%ers, those who are just plain stupid. Unfortunately, there is no cure for stupidity.
Double the fines, and folks will get the message.
What has been forgotten is most of these schools were designed when a large percentage of kids rode the bus to and from. When the the buses were cancelled there were no physical changes made to accommodate the reality…
Funny this is the topic today. This morning, right in front of me, I witnessed a young woman pulling a U-turn on a red light with on-coming traffic by Lucky while taking my boys to CVCHS. This is a busy traffic and pedestrian heavy area as students are walking up to the school. Totally lawless 3rd world mentality. Laws do not apply, I guess. They can do what ever they want.
Unless changes have been made, the drop off and pick up at Pine Hollow Middle School on Pine Hollow Road is complete chaos. I learned the hard way to avoid the area during those times if it was at all humanly possible, even if it meant I had to go completely out of my way to get around it. And, that may be part of the problem, because noone seems willing to challenge those who completely block a busy two-lane road by parking in the traffic lanes to wait for their children. Meanwhile, the kids are weaving their way in, out, and around the cars to get to their ride, or the school, which is on the opposite side of the street. There is a crosswalk, and it gets plenty of use, but I have been by on days when kids and cars are all over the street in front of the school in a dangerous mix that is actually scary to watch.
Never mind the ones who speed through the neighborhoods taking what they think is a shortcut to avoid the four-way stop at Pine Hollow and Mitchell Canyon in order to get to Mt. Diablo Elementary at the other end of Pine Hollow. It actually takes them far out of their way, and tripples or quadruples the distance they travel from the intersection, In order to take this shortcut, they have to literally race to the finish line to make it worth their while. Crazy. So, there are three schools on the street and the traffic and pedestrians at those hours is what I can only describe as frenetic. And, don’t tell me I must have known there were schools nearby when I bought the house. When the house was purchased in 1958, everybody walked to school.
You can write a book on adult/parent drivers…AWFUL!! Everyone is distracted with their phones..in a hurry!!Even running red lights!!they should have a law phones should be turned off when in vehicle at all times,..Parents are dropping off in the middle of the street..making illegal turns going the wrong way with signs even posted. They do not send a good example for their kids..today I was driving speed limit and car behind me on my tail and went around me..people are STUPID!!then you see them at the stop light they don’t even get far CRAZY
I live off of Alhambra Valley Road and the parents who wait in line to drop off / pick up their children at John Swett Elementary are so oblivious and frankly selfish. They block the entire road, especially at pickup time for 30 minutes or more. Unfortunately, if I turn on Alhambra Valley at the wrong time, I could easily wait for over 30 minutes to pass the school and get to my house that is less than 1/4 mile away from this school. Last time this happened, I called the front office of the school to complain and ask why they don’t control their drop-off process and they said they had no control over the issue. If these parents absolutely have to drop off and pick up, park your cars and walk. Don’t block an entire road. Think about other people. This is such a hazard and frankly a pain for those of us who don’t have kids at this school.
All of Martinez is held hostage by the Schools. I have to remember to not try going anywhere on Wednesdays when they have minimum days.
All of these new housing developments and No New Schools.
Two really bad areas:
U-turns across four lanes of traffic on Civic Drive behind Walnut Creek Intermediate School.
Speeding, running stop signs, and swerving around pedestrians in crosswalks through Heather Farm Park on the way to Seven Hills School.
Just one Police sweep through both those areas would really help.
The “mommy brigade” is the worse. I’ve seen some parents leaving their children off in the middle of the intersection, going off (in their cars) on a rant because the other parents aren’t moving fast enough, parents leaving their children off in other unsafe places. They back up the streets and get upset if anyone (that is not going to the school) tries to go around them. Cutting other people off.
Children used to walk to school. Everyone didn’t drive their individual child to school. If people started carpooling instead or walking their child to school – it wouldn’t be such a problem.
I have counted 63 cars dropping off kids in the middle of Detroit Ave or blocking the bicycle lane in a 30 minute period while waiting for the stoplight in front of Meadow Homes Elementary. Instead of pulling into the designated drop off area. Concord PD cruiser passed by 2 times but never saw any of them.
If you think that’s bad, I once followed a school bus and watched it change lanes in the middle of an intersection three times without signalling.
If you think that’s bad, when I follow a bus load of kids, it’s me the cops want to talk to.
It’s all good training for the little tykes. Adults face the same driving idiots everywhere else. This just weeds out the weak and the slow. It’s natural selection, only with cars and trucks instead of bears and lions.
(I’m being flippant because I’ve called the PD on many occasions to report the jackasses driving like they own the road, only to be ignored time and again. I was told Concord has 10 motorcycle officers for traffic control, yet I rarely see them anywhere around town. Hire 14 more, put them all on the street, and raise the damn traffic fines to cover the increased costs.)
95% of the issues are from the parents driving to and from the schools!!! Don’t make me hang out nearby with a video camera to prove this.
What a shame that we have HOV 2+ lanes on freeways but these parents are not required to ride share ~ just look and what a disaster the school areas are.
AND YES, IT IS THE SCHOOLS RESPONSIBILITY TO GET OUT THERE AND DIRECT TRAFFIC.
Standing on my front lawn, I videotaped the school drop off racetrack past my house one morning thinking I would take it to the City Council to appeal a decision to make the street in front of the school one way which caused the problem.. Suddenly, all the cars going by got tinted windows like I was presenting some sort of threat to THEM.
I live on Michigan Boulevard. Each morning Highlands Elementary parents routinely drive 35+ MPH on our 25 MPH speed limit street, even as there are children walking to the school. It is outrageously unsafe.
Perhaps a morning with a Concord Police motorcycle and radar gun will help alleviate this long-time problem. For CPD it will be like shooting fish in a barrel.
I am in same neighborhood, one of my kids is walking to school and I agree. Would LOVE to see a motorcycle copy handing out tickets please
I am a teacher at a local elementary school and I have crosswalk duty in the mornings before school. Parents are constantly talking on their phones not paying attention to anybody crossing the street. They also speed and park (and leave) their cars in the drop off zone. The worse ones are the ones who get into road rage and cuss at each other on the elementary school property. I have almost been hit twice because parents think they make the rules and have been cussed at for telling them they were going the wrong way.
To the commentors who say “back in my day kids used to walk to school!”….back in your day 80% of drivers were not texting or looking at their phones while driving. My kids just started walking to school in middle school. I would have loved for them to walk sooner. It was not because they are lazy or spoiled. It’s drivers I worry about. I have seen the worst behavior in school zones and there are rarely any police to give out tickets. One day at Pine Hollow I saw a woman drive right through the crosswalk while kids were in it about 3 feet from her car. It is terrifying. I have had to train my kids to be the most defensive pedestrians ever: make eye contact with driver, assume that they do not see you, etc.
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