Revised Plans for New Hyattsville Area Elementary School

The Hyattsville City Council on May 31 gave a slight nod to including traffic flow.

Paul Taylor, director of capital programs for Prince George’s County Public Schools brought a revised site plan, which has all school traffic removed from Nicholson Street.

“All traffic comes from the north side and Editor’s Park Drive,” he said.

The new plan divides up traffic on the site—car traffic comes toward the east side and bus traffic comes on the north side of the school.

Other changes are:

• The parking lot was pushed back from the street to provide a landscape buffer;

• There’s an enhanced edge on Nicholson Street to make more that area more pedestrian friendly

• The sidewalk on Nicholson Street will be six feet wide instead of the current four feet.

• The plan calls for fencing around the parking lot so pedestrians are encouraged to come along the pedestrian way toward the front of the building

• Lanes will be semi divided so buses and cars can split their traffic entry.

Mayor Marc Tartaro worked with Taylor and the school system on the revisions.

“It really makes it possible for someone if they’re driving and dropping off to be able to get in and get out very quickly,” he said of the new traffic configuration.

There are still some concerns though.

The new school site is in Ward 4, falling on the purview of Council Members Paula Perry and Carlos Lizanne.

The parking lot should be moved, Perry said.

“People are being allowed to use [the] fields [on the site for] pick up soccer games with music blasting from their car stereos which my residents have put up with for so long,” she said.

“I want the school, I know we need the school but again I’m in a Catch-22 situation. I also have to look out for my residents.

“With the school board not supporting us, it leaves me in a position not to support this. I don’t know what else to do.”

said he wasn’t immediately aware of the Hyattsville Police Department’s jurisdiction at the site but that there is an intent to create a joint access agreement to the fields that would include noise as it relates to public safety.

Taylor will take back this concern to his team and broach the council again in the near future, he said.

Later in the council meeting, the council unanimously (Lizanne was absent) voted to vacate certain rights of way around Nicholas Orem Middle School as requested for the site by the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission.