PARENT SURVEY – Arrival and Dismissal

Good afternoon Parents,

At Walnut Street School we are constantly looking to develop systems, techniques, and skill sets to best serve you and your students.  I want to gain some feedback from you before I begin working with our District and our City Officials to see what, if any, we can do to improve our arrival and dismissal congestion.

Please know and understand that our downtown location will never allow us a hassle free arrival and dismissal and the City has already worked with us a great deal in accommodating so many vehicles at 2 prime times.

Here is the link to a very short survey which will give me valuable information in assessing our possibilities in the future.

I know that the City has received complaints for cars that are parking illegally on Walnut Street.  This not only opens you up to a City parking ticket, but also impedes our buses from utilizing their lane.  Please refrain from parking your car on Walnut Street.

From the WSS Parent Handbook – p. 36

“PARKING

WSS is located in downtown Des Moines. As a result, parking is limited and can be challenging. Families are always encouraged to keep change in their vehicles to use at the city parking meters. Metered parking is available along Walnut Street to the west of the school, along Locust Street to the north of the school and along 9^th and 10^th Streets beside the school and on the blocks just north and south of the school.

The City of Des Moines does work with WSS for limited drop-off and pick-up parking along 9^th and 10^th Streets for those who follow the posted street signage and display a WSS Parking Badge. Parents are responsible for adhering to the parking signage and regulations posted by the City of Des Moines.

The parking lot on the west side of the school building is very limited in number of spaces available. Parents and visitors are welcome to use these spots if they are available. Parking in this lot is limited to 30 minutes. Double-parking or parking in unmarked areas is prohibited. Violators will have their vehicles towed at the owner’s expense.

Many nearby businesses and organizations hold events which result in street closures near the school. When we are aware of this information, we will pass it along to families. However, we do not always have this information.

Several nearby parking garages are available for use at an hourly or daily rate.

WSS and the DMPS district are not responsible for parking tickets or violations of parents and visitors.”

Thank you for understanding that arrival and dismissal procedures are never completely hassle free and also providing input through this process!  It can be very difficult to accommodate hundreds of cars in a 20 minute window, but we are making it work! 🙂

Thanks again,

Rob Burnett

Walnut Street School, Principal