Holly Cain, Two Harbors, has organized an online petition to promote a grassroots campaign advocating for accessible short-term parking for guardians of children needing assistance to get into the main entrance at Minnehaha Elementary School. The petition asks the city council to evaluate the curb and parking setup on 4th Avenue, near the school entrance, approve necessary curb designations, and install appropriate handicap parking signage to improve safety and accessibility.
Holly’s son, Nolan, a second-grader, is non-verbal and partially blind. He is currently escorted from the family car into the school at the 4th Avenue entrance to meet his aide. Holly says that she has been advocating with school officials for a handicap designated parking spot for two years.
The 4th Avenue entrance is where children are normally dropped off. Often, Holly felt she was causing traffic delays there. In a November 5 Facebook Post, Holly wrote, “Minnehaha parents! Specifically, the ones who do kid drop-off for school. If you see a Dodge Durango parked in the middle of the street with cautions on it is me. I’ve been advocating for my nonverbal, partially blind son for 2 years to get handicap parking in front of the school.”
As potential solutions, school officials suggested the 5th Avenue school entrance, the active loading and unloading zone for school buses, as an alternative. Holly points out that, “Adding drop-off traffic or expecting a student with visual impairment to navigate through active bus drop-off zones creates a major, unnecessary safety hazard for everyone involved.”
Another option presented was the entrance on 7th Street. There is handicap parking on that street, but those entrance doors to the school are locked for security reasons. Using those locations to park requires a long walk to the main entrance.
In August, work crews installed temporary curb extensions at the intersections of 7th Street and 4th and 5th Avenues. The temporary curb extensions and zebra crosswalks at those intersections grew out of local Safe Routes to School efforts and pedestrian/bicycle safety planning initiatives.
These intersections were chosen for the demonstration project because many kids and families use them to get to Minnehaha Elementary School. Seventh Street is a well-traveled route to downtown, and past studies and law enforcement reports identified a need for safety improvements in this corridor.
In the first two days, the petition received 173 verified signatures according to Change. org.
Holly said, “Nolan deserves to enter through the front of the building just like everyone else.”
To read and sign the petition, go to the Change.org website and search for PETITION FOR ACCESSIBLE PARKING AT SCHOOL ENTRANCE.
