SAN DIEGO (NEWS 8) — Parents and community members say they are frustrated with pick-up and drop-off times at Lakeside Farms Elementary School and they also say it's dangerous for the kids.
However, the superintendent tells News 8 there is a solution in the works.
"This is a constant traffic jam,” said mother Becca Leavitt. "[What] frustrates me the most [is] the lack of care about our kids.”
Earlier this week an emergency medical response was reportedly delayed as an ambulance was stuck in traffic near the school.
Depending on the medical issue, a delay like that could have potentially deadly consequences.
Parents and community members agree something needs to be done to solve the traffic snarls around school campuses.
"And people insist on going through the stop sign [and they] block traffic even more,” said Leavitt.
The Lakeside Union School District superintendent Andrew Johnsen says that with the school being in a neighborhood it’s a tricky situation.
He says the county has added cross walks, signs and lights but families don't walk to school like the used to.
Residents say the California Highway Patrol sometimes monitors the mess, but also say as soon as authorities leave people start driving the wrong way and start breaking the rules again.
Parents have said they don't feel safe letting their kids walk to school anymore.
"Everybody is mad and not paying attention,” said Leavitt.
The superintendent says the school board has adopted a Facilities Master Plan to help with the problem and have acquired a property adjacent to the school.
He says the adjacent lot should be cleared and functional by the summer so kids can be dropped off there and walk right onto campus by next school year.