How To Improve Safety in the School Parking Lot

At the end of the school day, students are ready to get back home. Once the final school bell rings, it can be a chaotic process for parents picking up their children, students and faculty driving home, and the buses filling up and leaving the school. It’s vital that your school implements an efficient and safe system to help children get to their destinations. Continue reading to learn more about how to improve safety in the school parking lot.

Clearly Striped Parking Lot

The key to having an efficient and safe parking lot is having clearly marked parking lines. When the lines fade, drivers begin parking all over the place. It can be unsafe for pedestrians and cars.

If you’re having parking issues, ask yourself if you need to restripe your parking lot. Not only can restriping the lot help with parking itself, but it can clarify bus zones, mark off crosswalks, and more. Investing in this service is essential to having a properly functioning parking lot for students, parents, and faculty.

Designated Pickup Spots

Whether it’s high school, middle school, or elementary students, there needs to be a safe space for students to wait for their parents or the bus to pick them up. If students are waiting outside, they should have an overhead awning or a barrier on the sidewalk to protect them from passing cars.

These designated pickup spots make it easier for parents to know where to drive. It improves the flow of traffic and makes picking up students more efficient during this busy part of the day.

Faculty Supervisors

While children are waiting for the bus or for their parents, it’s important that there is a faculty member watching over the students until they safely meet their parents. Parking lots have many moving factors. School faculty members are there to help keep children safe and make sure they get to their proper destinations.

Helpful Signs and Directions

Alongside a designated pickup spot for students, there should be additional signs that let parents know where to drive and to direct traffic. Some signs may include one-way signs, stop signs, or even highly specific signs that alert parents about where to find their child for pickup. Each school develops its own specific system for how after-school pickup proceeds. Create a system that works for your school and is helpful to parents.

Picking up students after school can be a stressful task, but it’s important that your school works to make this process run smoothly. Implementing some of these ideas about how to improve safety in the school parking lot will make the after-school process safe and simple.