Center Grove asks county for help enforcing parking regulations

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Hundreds of cars wait outside each Center Grove school at pick-up and drop-off times.

Some parents drop off their children down the street from their school and have them finish the walk to the building. And during large events and in the evenings, after dusk, parking can be hard to control, Assistant Superintendent Bill Long said.

“When we have a big event, people will park just about anywhere,” he said.

Long has also seen parents drop off students on Stones Crossing Road, with the students running to the high school or Center Grove Middle School Central from the road. Some of the schools in the district routinely have 300 cars waiting at pick-up and drop-off time, he said.

Now, the school corporation is asking the Johnson County Board of Commissioners to consider passing an ordinance that would regulate the use of no parking zones. The ordinance was considered at a meeting in early December and will be up for a second reading and vote on Jan. 13, said Shena Johnson, the county’s attorney.

The ordinance would take effect in July, and school officials hope to use the time between passage and July to educate parents and install signs to warn them and others who park illegally that they could face fines, Long said.

Center Grove’s school board passed a resolution at its November meeting that would allow school officials to ask the commissioners to consider the ordinance, he said.

A state law allows local government entities to take up issues and pass ordinances that pertain to public school buildings, according to the proposed ordinance on file with the county.

The ordinance would establish designated parking, pick-up and drop-off zones at school properties that could be regulated by local authorities, according to the proposed ordinance.

The ordinance would have the following rules.

No person shall stop, stand or park a motor vehicle at any time on any Center Grove Community School grounds that have been designated as “No Parking Zones” or “No Student Drop-off or Pick-up Zones.”

Emergency, maintenance, law enforcement, fire, government agency or medical services vehicle responding to a call would be exempt.

The school district will post “No Parking Zone” or “No Student Drop-Off or Pick-up Zone” signs; or similar language signs or markings on the school properties affected.

A fine of $100 could be levied for each offense.

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