Lehighton Area School District is seeking proposals from engineers for a traffic analysis of vehicular flow along Union Street and Indian Lane within its high school/elementary center campus.

Superintendent Dr. Christina Fish said some elementary school parents or guardians line up for pickup as early as 1:15 p.m. for a 3 p.m. dismissal, leading to a logjam on the inner campus street when the high school lets out shortly after 2:15 p.m.

“It’s been challenging because we have traffic from in front of the elementary center all the way around to the administration office,” Fish said in March.

When the elementary pickup crowd lines the street, vehicles coming out of high school parking lots are unable to make a left turn.

“That is leading people to make a poor choice and travel down the oncoming traffic lane to get around the amount of vehicles accumulating there,” Fish said. “Our infrastructure doesn’t really allow us to go anywhere with a third lane there. It’s not feasible not only from a fiscal standpoint, but also from a logistics standpoint.”

Board President Joy Beers suggested soliciting proposal for an outside firm to do a traffic study with the hopes it yields suggestions for improvement.

“We’re working on solutions as a district, but Dr. Fish is not a traffic engineer and neither am I,” Beers said in June. “I think we need to take this seriously. If we do a request for proposals to engage with a traffic engineer to do a small study for maybe a few thousand dollars, which could give us some advice. If they have advice and a drawing is needed, that would be a separate contract we’d have to consider at that time.”

According to the RFP, around 950 students are enrolled at the elementary center and 700 at the high school. In addition, a combined 40 preschool students attend the elementary center daily between the morning and afternoon sessions.

“There are currently 272 district employees, student drivers and daily visitors to each of the buildings,” the RFP states. “Around 20-25% of the high school and elementary center students are dropped off and picked up daily.”

Parent Dache Zelrick has spoken up about the traffic situation at multiple board meetings over the past several years, citing several near collisions caused by impatient motorists on Indian Lane.

“When there is a long line, you have people that just decide they are going to go around it,” Zelrick said. “Sometimes it is students who have arrived late or parents that just go around it. You’ll have cars stopped at the stop sign and then have other vehicles just cut right in front of that lane of traffic. It’s dangerous and needs to be looked at.”

The district said the study would explore alternatives to existing operational plans such as signs, directional flow of traffic, enforcement activities and infrastructure upgrades.”

Lehighton attempted a promotional campaign in the spring to try and encourage elementary parents to arrive later, while also urging high school student drivers to make good choices when departing campus.

“We would really like elementary parents to wait until 2:45 to start lining up for pickup,” Fish said. “Encouraging parents to utilize bus transportation instead of pickup is another way that we could alleviate some of this backup.”

Proposals are due to the district by Aug. 15. If the district moves forward with a study based on the proposals, it is hoping for completion by the end of October.

Fish said the district is discussing a plan with its administration, bus contractor and police staff.

“We have to move forward with something come the fall,” Fish said. “Doing nothing is not an option.”