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H-PT gets feedback on parking lot plans

HOUGHTON – Some Houghton Elementary School parents will have an additional chance to weigh in on a proposed plan to ease congestion at the school parking lot.

Parents dropping children off Monday received directions to an online survey asking how they would enter and exit the lot with the new design.

“That’ll help us to see the traffic flow and what people might do,” Houghton-Portage Township Schools Superintendent Doreen Klingbeil said at Monday’s board meeting.

At last month’s meeting, Houghton Police Chief John Donnelly presented a plan for a new access road off of Sharon Avenue.

The two-way road would start on Sharon Avenue close to attorney David Gemignani’s office, then go north to the fence of the elementary school playground, accompanied by a sidewalk. A roundabout would be installed near the fence, allowing people dropping off their children to return to Sharon.

Principal Anders Hill said he had met parents in the lobby at pick-up time, and handed pamphlets to Gret Explorations parents after school as well.

Observers watched the parking lot on Oct. 12 to monitor the dropoff times and traffic flow for the lot.

Board member Buck Foltz said he ran into an engineer from the district’s last building project watching the traffic. Donnelly and City Manager Eric Waara have also surveyed the pick-up/drop-off schedule, he said.

“They think there’s plenty they can do, so that’s awesome,” he said.

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