@ Tantrums &Turf Wars: The School Car Line Is Chaos

[rhian]

When did car lines become a thing? I lived about 3/4 of a mile from my elementary school so too close to be bus eligible and we mostly walked/biked, but occasionally got picked up (e.g. in bad weather, or if we needed to go straight to an appointment or something). Parents parked on the street on the blocks surrounding the school, and walked to meet their kids, or kids walked to find their parent's car. The school parking lot was not open for parents to drive into at all.

I understand that there are various reasons not completely within individual family control why private car transportation has become more prevalent than busing or walking, but I guess I'm not understanding why the solution is car lines, especially in suburban areas where there is ample street parking.

[brady2012]

Apr 30, 2024 14:13:07 GMT -5 rhian said:

When did car lines become a thing? I lived about 3/4 of a mile from my elementary school so too close to be bus eligible and we mostly walked/biked, but occasionally got picked up (e.g. in bad weather, or if we needed to go straight to an appointment or something). Parents parked on the street on the blocks surrounding the school, and walked to meet their kids, or kids walked to find their parent's car. The school parking lot was not open for parents to drive into at all.

I understand that there are various reasons not completely within individual family control why private car transportation has become more prevalent than busing or walking, but I guess I'm not understanding why the solution is car lines, especially in suburban areas where there is ample street parking.

This was what I was going to suggest - park the car and have your kid dismissed as a walker.  We also live too close to be eligible for the bus.  My kid is old enough to ride their bike, but when the weather is bad and we are available we pick them up.  In eight years of having kids in our elementary school, I have never been through the car line.

[noodleoo]

Apr 30, 2024 14:13:07 GMT -5 rhian said:

When did car lines become a thing? I lived about 3/4 of a mile from my elementary school so too close to be bus eligible and we mostly walked/biked, but occasionally got picked up (e.g. in bad weather, or if we needed to go straight to an appointment or something). Parents parked on the street on the blocks surrounding the school, and walked to meet their kids, or kids walked to find their parent's car. The school parking lot was not open for parents to drive into at all.

I understand that there are various reasons not completely within individual family control why private car transportation has become more prevalent than busing or walking, but I guess I'm not understanding why the solution is car lines, especially in suburban areas where there is ample street parking.

Our elementary school did not have a car line until Covid.

[ssmjlm]

I know I've posted this before, but our elementary school discourages walking because there are no sidewalks or crosswalks. A bunch of parents had to fight for a bike rack.

They use to not do a car line, but post covid they do. I liked when they just dismissed out the rear doors, but someone complained it wasn't safe/organized enough.

[penguingrrl]

Apr 30, 2024 14:13:07 GMT -5 rhian said:

When did car lines become a thing? I lived about 3/4 of a mile from my elementary school so too close to be bus eligible and we mostly walked/biked, but occasionally got picked up (e.g. in bad weather, or if we needed to go straight to an appointment or something). Parents parked on the street on the blocks surrounding the school, and walked to meet their kids, or kids walked to find their parent's car. The school parking lot was not open for parents to drive into at all.

I understand that there are various reasons not completely within individual family control why private car transportation has become more prevalent than busing or walking, but I guess I'm not understanding why the solution is car lines, especially in suburban areas where there is ample street parking.

I feel like it coincided with giving kids less freedom in all venues. My school will still release 1st graders to walk home unescorted by halfway through the school year (parents have to sign a form indicating their preference on this at the beginning of every school year), but reading here it seems like a lot of schools require kids to be a lot older to just let them go at the end of the day. I wonder if parents said that if they can't let the kids just walk to the car, they wanted a pick up line so the parent doesn't have to get out. I also wonder if in some cases it started as a way to accommodate disabled caregivers for whom getting out and walking to the door to collect the kid isn't possible or is unreasonably difficult and then others asked for it.