Red-zone stops could drop off

The Costa Mesa Police Department is ticketing parents who stop

illegally at Davis Elementary School while dropping off or picking up

their children.

On Monday afternoon, the department stationed officers along

Presidio Square, a back street outside Davis, where parents often

stop before and after school. By mid-afternoon Tuesday, the officers

had cited 13 drivers for stopping or parking in the red zone, which

extends along a row of parking spaces.

Earlier this month, the police received a complaint from a parent,

who claimed that motorists were causing traffic jams by parking along

the curb. The parent also feared that the congestion could endanger

children who walk across the street. The department initially

addressed the problem by putting a single officer on the street to

direct traffic, but patrols were assigned when the problem didn’t go

away.

“We plan to keep enforcement stepped up there until people get the

message,” said Lt. Tom Curtis. “This area is not your typical

driveway that’s part of school property, where people make a

half-circle and drop their kids off. It’s a public street.”

Blocking a red curb, Curtis said, entails a $35 fine. He noted

that part of the problem arose from cars blocking the route of

drivers who attempted to pull out of the parking spaces.

The drop-off area on Presidio Square, which borders TeWinkle Park,

is close to Costa Mesa High and Middle School, which often causes

sizable crowds at the end of the school day, as older children wait

for their siblings.

“If you’ve got parents driving in motion, and kids trying to cross

who are not following the crossing guard, it can be dangerous,” said

Davis Principal Judy Burgess.

She added that while she had not heard complaints about the

parking situation before the police brought it to her attention,

parents and students in the past had expressed concerns about safety

behind the school. Whenever possible, Burgess said, she and assistant

principal Cheryl Beck stand on both sides of the campus before and

after school to monitor the students.

* MICHAEL MILLER covers education and may be reached at (714)

966-4617 or by e-mail at o7michael.miller@latimes.comf7.