Swampscott Police Officer Kevin Reen presented the Select Board with ways to mitigate traffic concerns around school drop-off and pick-up at Swampscott Elementary School.
Reen spoke specifically about Whitman, Nason and Laurel roads. Reen and Officer Brian Wilson will obtain feedback from the neighborhoods and report back to Town Administrator Nick Connors and the Select Board two to four weeks into the school year.
Reen noted that there have been changes since the elementary school opened in 2024, but that doesn’t mean there can’t be additional updates a few years in.
Elementary School Principal Lori Sanborn previously told the Swampscott Tides the first day of the 2024-25 school year at the Swampscott Elementary School looked nothing like the end of days now.
The teachers and Swampscott police, especially Officer Kevin Reen, worked with Lori Sanborn, the principal of the elementary school, to ensure nearly 750 elementary school students were dismissed safely and sent in the right places.
“It was the most epic failure,” Sanborn said. “It took 45 minutes, but from a very challenging place came a very beautiful moment.”
Reen said pick-up is still a bit of an issue when it comes to lines of cars and clusters of students. He said when a line stretches all the way back to Laurel Road, it takes about 14 minutes to clear the cars.
“The drop off runs really smoothly. Parents do a good job dropping their kids off,” Reen said during the Select Board meeting. “The pick up is what has been a little bit more taxing on us.”
Reen noted that the police department does not plan to “do anything drastic.”
“What we’re looking at for recommendations at Orchard is closing a road to Whitman so that we will not get a queue of vehicles going up,” Reen said. “We are not going to allow cars to line up at the front of the school before 1 p.m. We’re going to work with the parents and say, ‘You can come at 1:45. Give us the grace period so we can get the cars in and we can get the cars out.’”
Reen predicts that cars will still be leaving with their students by about 2:20 p.m., even if they line up later.
“We’re just trying to eliminate a car queue line for an hour, hour and a half. That’s just unnecessary…It will preserve the safety of the community, of the people around the area,” Reen said. “It won’t put such a burden on the safety of the schools.”
Crossing guards as well as members of the fire department are expected to be in the area as well, according to Reen’s proposed plan.
Stop signs are also suggested to slow the speed of cars.
While nothing has yet been sent to parents across the district about the potential changes, Reen said the discussion with the Select Board was delayed by a week due to the town’s ongoing technical difficulties.
“We’re going to be working with the community, working with the residents, with how valuable this is to them,” Reen said. “We pride ourselves on face-to-face communications…We like to think that the community as a whole developing a plan, coming up facts and problem solving is the best scenario. ”
