City considers parking changes around Brooklyn School

Baker City Councilors will consider a resolution changing parking restrictions around Brooklyn Primary School during their regular meeting at 7 p.m. Tuesday at City Hall, 1655 First St.

Officials at Brooklyn want to move the bus loading zone from its current location on Oak Street to the north side of Washington Avenue, in front of the playground.

This proposal is known as Resolution No. 3667. Making this happen would require the city to restrict parking on that side of Washington from Ash toward Clark streets from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. and 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. on school days.

Parents would drop off and pick up their children on Clark or Broadway strreets instead of Washington, where a steady stream of vehicles stop to leave or retrieve children during the weekday periods when classes begin and end.

“There are a number of factors to consider, but of primary concern is the safety and proper supervision of the students,” according to Michelle Owen, the city’s public works director and the staff member who wrote the report to the councilors.

Relocating the bus loading zone would “improve visibility and traffic safety at the corner of Oak and Washington,” she stated.

Police Chief Wyn Lohner also told public works and school officials that he would like to see traffic along Washington reduced.

Two other ways the change could make the conditions around the campus safer: Moving the bus stop to that part of Washington would eliminate the need for bus drivers to make a difficult turn onto Washington from Oak, and would help staff members more easily watch children get on and off the bus if they’re walking through the playground instead of to and from Oak, Owen said.

Brooklyn has about 440 students attending grades K-3.

• In other business Tuesday, the councilors could award the engineering contract for the Resort Street reconstruction project, and they will review the quarterly financial and progress report for Historic Baker City Inc.