District bans parking on driveway
SHARON, Pa. -- Parents accustomed to parking in the Sharon Middle-High School driveway to pick up their kids after school have to find another place to do it.
The district, acting on a request from city safety officials, has banned parking on both sides of the long driveway running from Linden Street to East State Street.
Emergency vehicles can't use the driveway when people park there, particularly during sporting and other events in the school, said School Director Pamela Corini, speaking at Thursday's school board work session.
Superintendent Richard Rossi said "no parking" signs have been ordered and will be put up by the city, and violators will get a ticket.
Barricades: Until the signs are in place, the district has placed barricades along both sides of the driveway to discourage parking, and may hire a private security guard to enforce the ban, he said.
School Director Kathy Hall said the district may move some staff parking to the Forker Boulevard side of the building to open up more spaces in the main parking lot.
The district razed two houses it owned on the Forker Boulevard side and those properties can be converted into parking lots, Hall said.
At one time a gate at the Linden Street end of the driveway was closed near dismissal times, but the gate was broken and parents got used to driving into and stopping along the driveway to await their children's dismissal, officials said.
The gate has been repaired and will be closed at 2:20 p.m. each day for about an hour to prevent motorists (except those already in the parking lot) from using the driveway.