On the morning of October 16, a driver parked across the Montclair Cooperative School’s driveway on Chestnut Street and blocked the gate Co-op families use to get their children safely out of traffic and into school. The parent who reported it has spent most of October asking someone, anyone, to deal with the Montclair Early Learning Academy traffic she says is behind it.
The academy is the school district’s new free public pre-K. It opened in September in the former Renaissance middle school building at 176 N. Fullerton Ave., under the district’s plan to close Renaissance and convert the building into a pre-K center. That puts three schools on the same stretch of Chestnut Street between Park Street and North Fullerton Avenue: the pre-K, the Co-op and Montclair High School.
What drop-off looks like on Chestnut Street right now
The parent first wrote to the district on Oct. 2, in an email she shared with the Pod.
“In particular, parents are frequently opening car doors into active traffic, and drivers are using private driveways along Chestnut Street to turn around or make U-turns,” she wrote. “With cars moving in multiple directions, children getting in and out of vehicles, and pedestrians crossing the street, I’m increasingly concerned that someone could get hurt.”
Other drivers stop in the no-parking zone at South Fullerton and Chestnut, making what she called “an already busy intersection more hazardous for drivers and pedestrians.”
Afternoons are harder, because pre-K pickup at 3:15 p.m. overlaps with dismissal at Montclair High next door. She described “a significant number of students and vehicles coming and going from both schools at the same time.”
What one parent asked the district to fix
Her first request to Superintendent Ruth B. Turner and the district’s early childhood director was enforcement: a police officer or parking officer on Chestnut at peak times, to discourage what she called “unsafe (and illegal) U-turns.” She suggested reminding families to unload children on the curb side, with car seats installed on the passenger side when possible. And she asked for crossing guards to stay 15 to 30 minutes longer at both ends of the day.
“There are still many children and families arriving after 9:00 a.m. and leaving after 3:30 p.m., when traffic remains significant,” she wrote.
Two weeks later, she still had no reply. Then came the blocked driveway. Her Oct. 16 follow-up copied Co-op head of school Ana Younghusband and Jacob Nieman, who directs Complete Streets, the township office focused on making streets safer for everyone who uses them.
This time, the district answered within the hour.
Montclair Early Learning Academy traffic: Who can actually enforce the rules?
The reply came from Carla Pérez, the district’s director of early childhood education. Since the spring, she wrote, district staff have met with the township’s parking department, the police and Complete Streets. The school has sent families parking reminders, warned drivers and assigned a staff member, the school’s only operations aide, to help families cross and redirect drivers. It has also asked police and parking officials to show up at arrival and dismissal.
Then she named the limit.
“While we continue to educate families and reinforce expectations, it is important to recognize that the school district does not have authority to issue parking citations or enforce municipal traffic regulations,” Pérez wrote. “Unfortunately, despite repeated reminders and direct conversations, some adults continue to disregard posted parking restrictions. Without consistent enforcement by the appropriate local authorities, our ability to address these behaviors is limited to continued communication, warnings, and requests for compliance.”
Her email didn’t say whether police had agreed to come. More than a month into the school year, parents say they still haven’t seen them at the intersection.
Pérez also wrote that the district is working with Complete Streets to schedule a site visit to assess the area. The Pod asked Nieman when it will happen and what the township plans for enforcement in the meantime. He wrote via email, “I’ve already observed drop off in mid-September and will be going back again early next week. We’re going to consult with the PD and Parking Utility to see what may be appropriate as the PD and Parking are the entities able to do any enforcement in the area.”
If you drop off at the pre-K: What to know and who to call
To report illegal parking or unsafe driving, call the Montclair Police Department’s non-emergency line at 973-744-1234, or 911 if someone is in danger. Parking questions go to the township’s Parking Utility, which runs municipal parking, at MPU@montclairnjusa.org.
If you’re the one just stopping for a second, the parent’s advice costs nothing: park legally, let kids out on the curb side and don’t turn around in anyone’s driveway. If a car is blocking a school gate, call it in while it’s still there.
