A new city ordinance, which was passed on Aug. 19, prohibits cars from parking on streets around Bellaire from 8.am. to 5.p.m. and is now forcing parents to find new ways to pick up and drop off students.

Ordinance NO. 24-059, which prevents cars from blocking the driveways of Bellaire homeowners prohibits the unlawful parking, standing or stopping on Allendale Street, Berkshire Street, Braeburn Drive, Cherrywood Street, Datonia Street, Ferris Street, Hollywood Street, Holt Street, Inglewood Street, Maple Street, Mimosa Street, Pauline Avenue, Pine Street, Pocahontas Street, Valerie Street and Whipple Street.

Before the ordinance was passed, the Bellaire Police Department had received several complaints annually from Bellaire homeowners concerning the pick-up of students and parking in neighborhoods around Bellaire High School. The common thread of these complaints was that cars were blocking driveways while students were trying to get dropped off and picked up, according to Bellaire Community Relations Administrator Cheryl Bright. Since the parking ordinance was passed, she has been answering the public’s questions and concerns about the ordinance.

“Up until [the release of the ordinance], the Bellaire Police Department had been addressing these [incidents] on an individual basis,” Bright said. “However, it became clear that these weren’t isolated problems.”

Bellaire Police took initiative and proposed new parking regulations to address the homeowner’s issues and the mobility of cars around the high school. The City Council took notice of the proposal and decided to adopt an ordinance to amend parking restrictions already in place around the high school.

While this is a neighborhood issue, it also affects the school. The problem is that the ordinance changes which streets cars are able to park on for prolonged periods of time. Students will need to find a different means of parking once they arrive at school.

Bright said the proper way to drop off and pick up students should not interrupt traffic flow
“The traffic flow on all streets should be constantly moving with a safe stop for drop-off or pick-up,” Bright said. “If the child is not ready at the time, the driver should round the block and try again. When dropping off [students] on streets other than Maple, students should exit quickly, and vehicles should proceed.”

Upon learning about the new parking ordinance on Aug. 22, principal Michael Niggli informed parents and students with an e-mail. “I feel it is important to share this with Bellaire High School families directly as this may impact their plans when picking up their children in the afternoon,” Niggli said in the email.

Niggli reached out to the City of Bellaire after the ordinance was made public for further clarification on the details of how the ordinance would affect Bellaire. Upon further discussion with the City of Bellaire, Niggli reported that the city later made clear that the ordinance “does not prohibit drivers from dropping off or picking up [students] on Maple Street in the designated area [at the front and sides of] the school.” The city further stated that “The traffic flow on all streets should be constantly moving with a safe stop for drop-off or pick-up.”

While Niggli’s email indicated that he was initially surprised by the ordinance, he was later pleased by the clarification provided by the city knowing his students could still safely get dropped off and picked up around the school as long as cars did not linger.

Another issue the ordinance aims to solve is the traffic around Bellaire during peak pick-up and drop-off hours. With the long lines of cars dropping off students in the morning, some of those students, like sophomore Valeria Meija, fail to make it to class on time.

“Traffic makes me tardy almost every single day since everyone is getting dropped off at the same time,” Mejia said.

However even with this ordinance, Meija said that she doesn’t think it will decrease traffic significantly, and won’t fix her being tardy to class.

Sophomore Bianca SaldivarGomez, does see its purpose. SaldivarGomez drives to school every day and said that traffic is “heavy and pretty chaotic” when arriving at schools in the mornings, but moderate when she leaves school. SaldivarGomez thinks that as people are adjusting to the new parking rules, the ordinance might temporarily increase her commute time, but that people will adjust to the new rules with time.

“I think the ordinance was necessary because it aims to improve safety and manage traffic more effectively around the school,” SalvidarGomez said. “Although it might cause some inconvenience at first, the long-term benefits of reducing congestion and improving safety make it worthwhile.”

The new parking ordinance aims to reduce the amount of blocked driveways, while still giving students an opportunity to safely arrive at school in a timely manner. For further inquiries or concerns about the new ordinance, please contact the City of Bellaire’s Community Relations Administrator, Cheryl Bright, at [email protected].