At about 3:40, with school letting out at 3:30, I saw only one Crystal Lake policeman on Golf Road out in front of South Elementary School.
He wasn’t giving tickets. He was talking to a woman who was legally parked.
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If you wonder why this might be of interest, these two articles will bring you up to speed:
Dads Forced to Cough Up Dough for “Donuts for Dads” Day at South School
Maybe it was because Mother’s Day was yesterday, but when I drove past South Elementary School in Crystal Lake this morning, there were no policemen ticketing cars the way there was two weeks ago for Donuts for Dads.
Maybe there was some better use elsewhere in Crystal Lake.
Maybe the moms know they shouldn’t illegally park.
Crystal Lake Police turned a warm and fuzzy breakfast of Dads and their children into a public relations disaster at South Elementary School two weeks ago tomorrow.
Every year South Grade School, which my son attends, puts on a “Donuts for Dads” breakfast before school.
The Moms and staff of the grade school buy donuts and provide them to kids and Dads.
They even have bananas and yogurt for those whose carbohydrate intake shouldn’t be be as high as donuts provide.
All in all very warm and fuzzy, don’t you think?
But, outside there was a concerted effort by Crystal Lake Police to ticket illegally parked cars.
Apparently, this was a high crime area in Crystal Lake that Monday morning.
Even a supervisor was doing the lowly work. You can see his vehicle, parked askew in the very few one of the legal parking places in front of South School.
Tickets like this littered windshields up and down Golf Road.
As I drove by the vehicle the supervisor had just ticketed, I heard him ask a subordinate,
Then, I noticed the unmarked car toward the intersection of Golf and Spruce Lane. It was parked next to the cars being ticketed. You can see it in the photo of the supervisor issuing the ticket above or below.
As I drove past the school, I noticed a third police car, this one clearly marked, parked at the corner of Spruce and Golf.
I, of course, learned my lesson last spring. And, when I did, the city’s outside parking ticket processor in Milwaukee screwed up. It sent me a notice I had not paid. I wanted to report my lost payment to Crystal Lake’s Inspector General, not knowing if the Milwaukee outfit was stealing parking ticket money, but was told the city doesn’t have such an investigator of wrong-doing. (From what I heard last Friday, it really needs one, by the way.)
This is not the first sweep of parking law disrespecting South School parents. It happened in March of last year. And at other times when I left my camera home.
It is apparent that neither the District 47 school board nor the city council cares. Off road parking places and a drive-through exist at West and Husmann Elementary Schools. At Husmann, which I mistakenly thought was put on lots purchased to the east, but was put on school property. West School’s is a retrofit. Indiana Prairie has parking for both teachers and parents. So does Woods Creek.
Even North Grade School’s parking situation is better than South’s.
South School remains an orphan school.
There’s room to build a drop-off driveway and more parking places and other suggestions have been discussed. But no action taken.
Tomorrow, it’s
I wonder if the Crystal Lake Police will have nothing better to do than enrage South School Moms, as they undoubtedly enraged South School Dads two weeks earlier.
Last year after I got my Golf Road
“Hey, what are you complaining about? Your ticket only costs $10 and you don’t have to go to Woodstock”
Crystal Lake parking ticket dropping off my son at South School, I was going to do a follow-up story about drop-off arrangements at other District 47 Crystal Lake elementary schools.
Unfortunately, the Crystal Lake Central High School boys’ bathroom mirror Virginia Tech threatener got in the way.
Saturday, I showed you the improvement to West School. Here it is again.
At Husmann Elementary School, District 47 not only bought the splendid old pump house and tore it down to make an employee parking lot, but it also purchased the two houses east of the school and tore them down. You can see the parking lot and drive-through lane created for picking up lanes in the photo above, taken from the library side of the school.
That does not stop people from parking on Franklin Street across from Crystal Lake Central High School in a no parking zone (click and you can read the sign in the foreground) while waiting their turn to pick up their kids, but it is so much better than the situation at South Elementary School.
I think I’ll drive past some other schools and see if there are worse pick-up problems than exist at South.
Last year after I got my Golf Road “Hey, what are you complaining about? Your ticket only costs $10 and you don’t have to go to Woodstock” Crystal Lake parking ticket dropping off my son at South School, I was going to do a follow-up story about drop-off arrangements at other District 47 Crystal Lake elementary schools.
Unfortunately, the Crystal Lake Central High School boys’ bathroom mirror Virginia Tech threatener got in the way.
Saturday, I showed you the improvement to West School. Here it is again.
At Husmann Elementary School, District 47 not only bought the splendid old pump house and tore it down to make an employee parking lot, but it also purchased the two houses east of the school and tore them down. You can see the parking lot and drive-through lane created for picking up lanes in the photo above, taken from the library side of the school.
That does not stop people from parking on Franklin Street across from Crystal Lake Central High School in a no parking zone (click and you can read the sign in the foreground) while waiting their turn to pick up their kids, but it is so much better than the situation at South Elementary School.
I think I’ll drive past some other schools and see if there are worse pick-up problems than exist at South.
Three days this past week, Crystal Lake’s South Elementary School parents have gotten illegal parking tickets on Golf Road in front of the school, Highland Avenue east of the Dole Mansion and Spruce, which is unmarked on this map, but runs north from the east side of the school.
A Crystal Lake policeman in an unmarked black car parked in a private home driveway across from South School was walking up and down Golf Road putting tickets on windshield on the north side of the street. Unfortunately, I didn’t have my camera any of the three days.
Friday morning there was a Pella Window semi parked right across the street from the school. After I dropped my son off, stopping briefly in the street, I saw the policeman walking up to the big truck. He had already given tickets to every car on the north side of Nash Road.
I did have a camera one afternoon when he wasn’t there.
You can see the congestion. All the cars on the left are parked illegally and, on Friday, all the ones there got tickets.
Not strange at all is the fact that the parents figure out to pick up their kids when a policeman is not around.
Traffic is congested, but the job gets done.
I’m sure someone familiar with chaos theory could explain why that happens.
You can see how narrow the roads are, how deficient the spaces for parents to pick up their children.
You may remember that I got a ticket dropping off my son last year.
I pulled into the empty handicapped parking places right in front of the front door and was told to move on.
I pulled out onto the street a couple of car spaces, stopped and let my son out of the car. He didn’t go fast enough.
The policeman, obviously thinking was deliberated disobeying him, came up and gave me a $10 ticket. (See “I, Scofflaw.”)
This year’s policeman also issued tickets on Highland and Spruce.
There are “no parking” signs, of course, on all of the locations where the policeman was writing tickets, but what alternative do parents have?
“Where are they supposed to park?” one observed asked in disgust.
I can tell you.
They can continue driving around the block when a policeman is present until they find an empty spot in front of the school. That’s what I do. I have had to drive around the block as many as five times if I come too early.
I’ve told my son not to expect me until at least ten minutes after school lets out.
Last year, I asked a policeman issuing tickets—maybe the same man who was out there this week—how people were supposed to pick up their kids.
He told me that there were plans to build a circle behind the school in front of the well at the end of Highland Avenue (the street that goes on the west side of the school).
Not good odds that it will be built before my son goes to Bernotos Middle School.
But, I know what parents will be talking about at the South School Fun Fair today.
They will be talking about how ridiculous it is to harass parents trying to pick up their kids after school.
Here’s what District 47 did for West School:
Three days this past week, Crystal Lake’s South Elementary School parents have gotten illegal parking tickets on Golf Road in front of the school, Highland Avenue east of the Dole Mansion and Spruce, which is unmarked on this map, but runs north from the east side of the school.
A Crystal Lake policeman in an unmarked black car parked in a private home driveway across from South School was walking up and down Golf Road putting tickets on windshield on the north side of the street. Unfortunately, I didn’t have my camera any of the three days.
Friday morning there was a Pella Window semi parked right across the street from the school. After I dropped my son off, stopping briefly in the street, I saw the policeman walking up to the big truck. He had already given tickets to every car on the north side of Nash Road.
I did have a camera one afternoon when he wasn’t there.
You can see the congestion. All the cars on the left are parked illegally and, on Friday, all the ones there got tickets.
Not strange at all is the fact that the parents figure out to pick up their kids when a policeman is not around.
Traffic is congested, but the job gets done.
I’m sure someone familiar with chaos theory could explain why that happens.
You can see how narrow the roads are, how deficient the spaces for parents to pick up their children.
You may remember that I got a ticket dropping off my son last year.
I pulled into the empty handicapped parking places right in front of the front door and was told to move on.
I pulled out onto the street a couple of car spaces, stopped and let my son out of the car. He didn’t go fast enough.
The policeman, obviously thinking was deliberated disobeying him, came up and gave me a $10 ticket. (See “I, Scofflaw.”)
This year’s policeman also issued tickets on Highland and Spruce.
There are “no parking” signs, of course, on all of the locations where the policeman was writing tickets, but what alternative do parents have?
“Where are they supposed to park?” one observed asked in disgust.
I can tell you.
They can continue driving around the block when a policeman is present until they find an empty spot in front of the school. That’s what I do. I have had to drive around the block as many as five times if I come too early.
I’ve told my son not to expect me until at least ten minutes after school lets out.
Last year, I asked a policeman issuing tickets—maybe the same man who was out there this week—how people were supposed to pick up their kids.
He told me that there were plans to build a circle behind the school in front of the well at the end of Highland Avenue (the street that goes on the west side of the school).
Not good odds that it will be built before my son goes to Bernotos Middle School.
But, I know what parents will be talking about at the South School Fun Fair today.
They will be talking about how ridiculous it is to harass parents trying to pick up their kids after school.
Here’s what District 47 did for West School:
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