Plan reroutes traffic around school

Beginning Monday, parents will be asked to take a different route when picking up children at Henry Leavenworth Elementary School.

Members of the Leavenworth Police Department said they have worked out a new after-school pickup route with school officials.

Currently, parents are able to enter the school property by turning west onto Vilas Street from 20th Street. But starting Monday, parents picking up children after dismissal will be asked to turn from 20th Street onto Limit Street, heading west. They then will turn north onto 22nd Street and then head east on Vilas to the school entrance.

On the school grounds, the pickup areas for the individual grade levels will remain the same, according to information from school district spokesman Jake Potter.

Maj. Dan Nicodemus, deputy chief of the Leavenworth Police Department, said officials hope the new route will alleviate congestion created when parents turn directly onto Vilas Street from 20th to pick up their children.

"This is after school only," Nicodemus said of the change.

He said the same level of congestion is not seen in the morning because the dropping off of students is more staggered.

Announcement of the change in the pickup route comes after Lisa Loewen complained about the traffic congestion Tuesday to the Leavenworth City Commission. Loewen lives near the school.

Leavenworth Police Chief Pat Kitchens said traffic issues around the elementary building are worse this school year because 22nd Street between Limit and Vilas streets is now a one-way street.

City officials switched 22nd Street from a two-way to a one-way street this summer after flash flooding eroded a portion of the roadway and its shoulder.

Kitchens said the city cannot pass a law to force parents to follow the new traffic plan, so their cooperation is needed.

"That requires voluntary compliance," he said.

Nicodemus said police officers will be in the area of school Monday afternoon and may direct traffic.

Nicodemus said the Leavenworth Police Department will be posting information about the new traffic plan on social media.

School officials also have plans to notify parents of the changes. The school district has released a map to illustrate the new traffic route.

Twitter: @LVTNewsJohnR