Milton Avenue School Parking Lot to Expand, Will Likely Alleviate Traffic Woes

Pretty soon, the children of Milton Avenue Elementary School will be able to heed Aerosmith's advice and 'walk this way.'

The borough Planning Board unanimously decided to expand the parking lot at the school Wednesday to make pick-ups and drop-offs easier for parents and safer for children. The new design will also thwart some of the crowding for the roughly 25 full-time employees of the school, which goes from pre-kindergarten to third grade.

Many of the employees had been parking on the street because of the lack of parking on campus.

There are no buses for the children, since all of the students live within a two-mile radius, so it gets jammed before and after school with parents taking their children to and from the building. With inclement weather, officials said, things just get worse.

"This takes a lot of traffic off the street, which is exactly the way we should do it," said Mayor Nelson Vaughan.

The plan is to expand the number of parking spaces from 27 to 45, add a sidewalk connecting the new lot and entrance to the school and implement no stopping or standing signs on lower Elmwood Avenue.

All of that is expected to curb much of the chaos that has haunted the area.

"This is one of the nicest surprises," said Chatham resident Marc Boisclair. "It has been a nightmare for a number of years."

However, there are some things that will not change for the approximately 375 students and their school. The trees along Duchamp Place and adjacent to the school will not be removed, an existing transformer will have shrubbery planted around it and the telephone pole on the corner of the property will remain intact.

There are no plans to add any additional lighting in the lot and most, if not all, of the aesthetic beauty that has defined the school will stay as is. If a need for additional lighting arises in the future, the telephone pole could have lights added for about $8 per month.

"I think it will be a nice project," said Borough Engineer Vince DeNave. "I'm willing to help the school board (in every phase of this project)."

The construction, which will cost just under $45,000, will begin in about two weeks and should last for no more than one month. The amount of the project will come out of the school's budget.