Changes in store for Lynnhurst parking situation

SAUGUS – Parking at the Lynnhurst School during pick-up and drop-off hours just got a little bit tighter.The Board of Selectmen voted Tuesday to install “No Parking from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. to 3 p.m.” signs from the exit driveway at the Lynnhurst Elementary School to the next driveway on Elm Street. It covers a distance of roughly 20-25 feet.Crossing guard Cathy Lucia asked for the signs largely out of safety concerns for the students. Lucia said the buses need to make a turn and parents parking along that stretch waiting to either pick up students or dropping them off made that difficult. It was also a safety issue for children attempting to cross the street in the crosswalk.It is also illegal, she pointed out. The curb in the area in question is painted yellow, which means no parking but Lucia said that has not been a deterrent for parents. She said she has also tried to block the area with orange cones but those were recently stolen for the third time.Lucia also said when cars are parked on both sides of the street the roadway becomes very narrow.”Quite a few side mirrors have been snapped off,” she added.Traffic Officer Lt. Stephen Sweezey was on hand to back up Lucia’s request. Sweezey said Lucia had a tough job dealing with the crush of traffic that plagues the school each and every day and anything he could do to make her job easier he was happy to do.”I whole-heartedly support her if it will make her job safer and safer for the kids who go to school there,” he said.A neighbor, Robert Eisenhaur was a little more reticent.”I’m not a big fan of signs so if you could limit it to one sign that would be better for me,” he said.Eisenhaur agreed the signs were necessary and suggested the board might want to take down the No Parking signs in front of the ball field since no one paid any attention to them anyway.Selectman Stephen Castinetti, whose son goes to the Lynnhurst, said there was no question in his mind that the signs were needed but he didn’t believe one sign would do it.In the end the board voted to install two signs and the no parking rule will only be in effect during the rush hours of arrival and departure.