Neighbors to Hudson High School Students: 'NO, NO, NO!'

HUDSON, WI -- It's a story as old as parenting itself: kids want to do something, adults say "no."

In early December, Patch reported that a Hudson High School student wrote to city officials to take up the issue of student parking around the school.
According to that report, construction was causing a parking shortage in the area and Police Chief Marty Jensen was asked by the student to 1) temporarily remove restricted parking signs near the school until construction at the new school is complete or 2) issuing residential parking passes to students on a temporary basis to students who need them for school.

On Thursday, January 12, The Hudson Public Safety Committee will take the Hudson High School parking issue one step further down the road, asking citizens to voice their concerns or support for student parking in neighborhoods surrounding the school on a temporary basis.

Residents Already Speaking Against:

Based on public documents submitted to the city, Hudson officials have already seen a flood of letters come in speaking against student parking. (Residents' names and specific street addresses have been removed)

Here is what they're saying:

Spruce Dr.: "It is wrong to expect us to accommodate students when there are other options available to them , such as buses, walking or parents. I believe that it is time for the school and the city to make changes to disallow all these
kids driving to school."

Stag Circle: "The reason that we have neighborhood parking restrictions is because of abuse by students."

Juniper Way: "We are fervently against allowing students who do not have parking passes to park on the streets surrounding the high school campus. We are primarily concerned with safety of the young children (including ours, who are not yet of school age) that live on our street."

Juniper Way: "Overall, I am not in favor of opening my neighborhood to support temporary student parking. My primary concerns are related to the probability of a great increase of traffic in my culdesac, not only from students who would park there, but even more so from the students who would seek to park there, but find no available spots."

Fillmore St.: "Our concern about giving permission to park on Fillmore Street is two-fold: increased traffic as well as parking too close to our mailbox which would impede mail delivery. As far as we know, students have already been prohibited from parking on Fillmore due to a driverless runaway car which made its way down the hill and ended up against a telephone poll by the alley."

Chestnut Dr.: "As you should know our neighborhood, on every school day, is under assault from traffic. To further exasperate the problem with student on-street parking is unconscionable."

Juniper Way: "If parking is an issue at the high school, we would encourage the School District to explore strategies to lessen the need for parking and save energy such as car pooling, walking, biking when possible, and riding the bus."

St. Croix Heights: "I am actually on the side of more parking restrictions rather than less. Oak Street itself is a ridiculously poor excuse for a road in pretty much every way, the “Friedlander curve” is a dangerous passage (and functionally the only practical way to get to my street), and that any parking is allowed on the Fillmore Hill between 11th and 12th Please know I support the improvements to the school. Everything I’ve raised is not anti-school or anti-student.
It’s just the practical realities of our street’s condition. Street is a real hazard when you add pedestrian traffic to it (again – no sidewalks)."

Grey Fox Lane: "Driving to school is a privilege. If students are
having trouble with parking, perhaps they should carpool with others or use the convenience of the buses provided. "

Spruce Dr.: In the winter the plows have to go around them and that results in icy ruts on the street. With that problem and the general narrowing of the street in Winter plus the lack of visibility when trying to enter the street caused by piles of plowed snow on the sides of the driveways and parked cars I would have to say that I am against any student parking permits.

Willow Drive: I don’t have a problem with students parking, but they should be restricted to one side of the street so as not to create a one way situation where they are parking. Pitt St. I do not want Residential Neighborhood parking on our street. I live on the south side of the street with the greater portion of the snow being plowed to my side of the street and facing north there is very little thawing through the winter

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