Email sent on January 19, 2022:
Greetings South High Parents,
This message is for those parents who pick their students up from school at the end of the day. If this does not pertain to you, you may stop reading now.
As I have said in previous emails, the traffic congestion around school (at the end of the day) is problematic. We have been in discussions with the Downers Grove Police Department about the problems, and have some ideas as to how we can make things more safe. However, before we start to consider closing drives and/or changing traffic patterns, we are hoping that you can help alleviate the logjam.
The problems actually begin long before the students are released from school. Parents arrive as much as 40 minutes before school ends and park along the drives of the school. Subsequent parents add to the line of parked cars and before school is out, cars are stopped in the travel lane creating backups along Norfolk and Dunham - often all the way to 63rd street. The amount of stopped traffic causes additional unsafe practices from other vehicles. Vehicles (some buses) are driving into oncoming traffic to get around vehicles stopped in the traffic lane. When students do get out, there is a large amount of parked cars, and cars trying to get around them, that students have to navigate through. Finally, some cars are doing U-turns in the street or turning around in neighbors driveways, causing additional unsafe situations.
We are asking for you to consider some things to help as you pick up your student:
* Please don’t arrive on campus before school has been dismissed for the day.
* If you do arrive before school is out, please park in the large lot next to the baseball field. There is a fair amount of students who get out of school prior to eighth period. This leaves many open parking spaces for you to use - this is a much safer alternative place for you to park and wait.
* Please follow the flow of traffic and do not stop in the travel lanes.
* Please avoid using U-turns or three-point turns to go in the opposite direction. While it may save you a minute or two, it puts others at risk.
* Consider having your student ride the bus, if eligible.
We will monitor the situation in the next few days before making changes. Thank you in advance for your assistance and cooperation.
Ed Schwartz
DGS Principal