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New WES parking lot will relieve congestion

New lot construction at Westlock Elementary School will help alleviate parking congestion in the 2016-17 school year, said the school’s principal.
Construction crews begin work Aug. 18 on the curb joints at Westlock Elementary School’s new parking lot.
Construction crews begin work Aug. 18 on the curb joints at Westlock Elementary School’s new parking lot.

New lot construction at Westlock Elementary School will help alleviate parking congestion in the 2016-17 school year, said the school’s principal.

A new $150,000 11,000 square foot addition to the school’s parking lot, located on the south side of the building, will provide pickup and drop-off parking for parents, while freeing up bus lanes along the busy intersection of 106A Street and 105 Avenue.

New curbs and sidewalks are also part of the project, which is being funded through facility upgrade allocations from Alberta Education. Work is slated to be done in time for the first day of school, Aug. 31.

“In an elementary school, way more so than a high school, there’s a lot more parents that will pick up and drop off their kids,” said principal Pierre Ouimet.

“The parking lot, through our feedback loops like surveys, has come back as one of the issues that’s been a perennial concern.”

Ouimet said that the lot, with 32 new parking stalls, will help draw that traffic further south from the school’s busy intersection and parking lanes.

The lot will be designated solely for pick-up and drop-off traffic, which is a problem, particularly, when school gets out in the afternoon.

“It should alleviate, hopefully eliminate the congestion and all of the vehicles, particularly at the end of the day and make it a little safer for folks coming in and out,” he said.

Ouimet added that while the parking situation at the school is not ideal for many groups, including teachers, the lot construction will primarily serve for traffic diversion and that overall congestion relief will hopefully have a cascade effect on the school’s parking problems.

“We could use another two or three spots for staff, but I think it’ll be a bit of a training process initially to get the parents trained,” he said.

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