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Traffic and Parking

orange vest and stop sign

Laurelwood School was designed for an attendance area less than half its present size at a time when most students walked to school. The now large attendance area and parent concerns for safety have prompted an explosion in the number of students coming to school by car. The streets around the school were not designed for the level of traffic we experience on school day mornings and afternoons. We have worked with both the Santa Clara and Sunnyvale Police Departments to come up with plans to ensure student safety and to facilitate the flow of traffic. Your knowledge and cooperation is essential. Many of our rules are based on traffic laws; violations have resulted in police department citations. Please follow the directions of staff and parent volunteers.

General Practices (Which Apply to All City Streets)

  • All passengers in the car must wear seat belts; every child in the car must be harnessed in approved harness systems. Violators will be cited.
  • The speed limit around the school is 25 miles per hour or less, depending on what is a safe speed. Violators will be cited.
  • Cars may not cross the double yellow lines to pass other cars. Violators will be cited.
  • Cars must stop at the yellow line that is a few feet in front of the crosswalk. Violators will be cited.
  • Cars may not cross the yellow line if any person has even a toe in the crosswalk; cars may not proceed until the crossing guard(s) are on the sidewalk. Violators will be cited.
  • California law requires anyone under 18 to wear a helmet while riding a bicycle, scooter, skateboard or when using inline skates. 

Morning Arrival Procedures

  • Students may not be dropped off before 7:55 a.m. Parents may wait in front of the school until 7:55 a.m., but must stay in and with their cars. The parking lot is closed for student drop off and pick up (Extended Day students excluded if before 7:55 a.m. and/or after 2:50 p.m.). Please do not enter the lot and/or use parking spaces marked "staff" to wait for 7:55 a.m.
  • The parking lot is closed to student drop off and pick up and will be chained closed from 7:55 a.m. - 8:15 a.m., and again at the end of the school day. Students need to dropped off at the curb after 7:55 a.m.
  • If you need to leave your car, you must park your car in a legal parking place. Be sure not to park in any red zones or in or in front of our neighbors' driveways for drop off. When parking at a curb in front of our neighbors' houses, please be sure that you do not obstruct any driveways, in any matter, for any length of time.  Legal spaces within the parking lot do not include those marked for "staff", the spaces at the end of rows of parked cars, or any unmarked places. 
  • Drop-off areas include the curbs at the front of the school (with the Morning Greeters/Safety Patrol) and at the gate on Kensington Drive at the far end of the field.  
  • Students walking across the parking lot from the neighborhood or Kensington area must only use the painted crosswalk to cross the parking lot, and should be cautious of vehicular movement within the parking lot at all times. 
  • California law requires anyone under 18 to wear a helmet while riding a bicycle, scooter, skateboard or when using inline skates. 

Using the Morning Greeters

  • Approach the school from Inverness on Teal heading north toward Dunford. Follow the directions of the Morning Greeters.
  • Pull up as far as you can to the cone before the crosswalk line.
  • Drop off your children only when you are fully stopped and at the curb.
  • Do not drop children off when in the traffic lane and/or double-parked or while you are waiting to move forward to the front of the school on Teal.
  • Have your children ready to unbuckle their seat restraints and leave the car immediately when the door opens.
  • Pull out behind the car in front of you; do not cut out ahead of the car in front of you.
  • Watch the crosswalk for pedestrians and the Safety Patrol/crossing guard when leaving.

After-School Guidelines

  • For the safety of all, the parking lot closed for student pick up and drop off and will be chained closed at the end of each school day.
  • Use the Drop-Off/pick up lane at the curb in front of the school and stay in your car at all times; your children will find you at the curb. As this is a no-parking zone, if your student is not immediately present to get in your car, you need to pull away from the curb and drive around the block until they are present and ready to get in to your car. Do not park your car in this area, and then leave it, to locate a child. 
  • Pull your vehicle as far forward as possible, and be prepared to continue to pull forward as the cars in front of you move forward. This relieves back-up traffic in the street and allows more children access to their rides.
  • If you need to walk in, park in a legal space along a curb that is outside of the school's drop off/pick-up zone, and then walk in. The parking lot is closed for pickup.  Use sidewalks whenever possible. Only use the painted crosswalk to navigate across the parking lot while being cautious of moving vehicles at all times.
  • Do NOT double-park, stop in the middle of the street, or pull in to the parking lot to wait for your child. Wait in line with your car in the pick up lane, or park legally somewhere else along the street. Be sure not to park in any red zones or in or in front of our neighbors' driveways. When parking at a curb in front of our neighbors' houses, please be sure that you do not obstruct any driveways, in any matter, for any length of time.
  • Remind your child to wait until you reach the curb and come to a complete stop before approaching your vehicle. Students may not walk through the parking lot unless accompanied by an adult, and may only go through it at the point with the painted crosswalk.
  • Keep the sidewalks clear when entering and exiting the parking lot. Watch for children at all times.
  • Report all vehicle bumps and scratches (or more) to the office immediately.
  • California law requires anyone under 18 to wear a helmet while riding a bicycle, scooter, skateboard or when using inline skates. 

Thank you for helping making our streets and sidewalks safer for our children.

caution speed limit 25 mph children

Keeping Safe Around Laurelwood

There are things we can do as parents and guardians to make drop off and pick up go as smoothly and as accident-free as possible. Please keep the following simple rules of the road in mind on those mornings and afternoons where we are without assistance from the SVDPS:

  • The speed limit in a school zone is 25 miles per hour. Please do not speed dangerously through intersections or around corners in an effort to get your child to school before the bell rings.
  • Come to a complete stop at the intersection. Rolling through stop signs can cause you to hit a pedestrian in the crosswalk who expected your vehicle to stop.

  • Pursuant to the California Vehicle Code, a pedestrian is classified as anyone on foot or using a "human powered device," such as a skateboard, wheelchair or scooter. Under California law, drivers are required to yield to pedestrians, whether they are crossing in a marked or unmarked crosswalk at an intersection.

  • While bicyclists are not technically pedestrians under the law, you must still exercise caution when encountering children on bicycles near school grounds. The law requires you to leave at least 3 feet of passing distance between your vehicle and a bicyclist.

  • Please do not block the intersection at Lochnivar and Teal. If you cannot complete your cross of the intersection without preventing cross-traffic from flowing unobstructed, please wait until the traffic subsides in front of you and proceed when you can completely exit the intersection.

  • Please do not obstruct any of the four crosswalks that border the intersection at Lochinvar and Teal. Again, if you cannot complete your cross of the intersection without obstructing the crosswalk, please wait until the traffic subsides in front of you and proceed when you can completely exit the intersection. 

  • When stopped at the intersection, yield first to pedestrians and exercise caution around bicyclists. Then proceed to drive through the intersection yielding to the driver who arrived at the intersection first or to the driver on your right if you arrived at the same time. 

  • Consider an earlier arrival to school - if some families arrange for drop off to occur at 7:55 a.m. that would help alleviate some of the congestion and would allow traffic to move more smoothly.

  • Finally, as we are a school of over 700 students, drop off and pick up are crowded times of day. Please pay attention to the road and do not engage in distracted driving. 

This is a lot to remember but if we all work together in the best interests of our school community we can make drop off and pick up a little less frustrating for us and much safer for our kids.

If you, or someone you know, is interested in learning more about becoming a crossing guard with the City of Santa Clara, please go to City of Santa Clara.

On behalf of Mr. Fuller and the entire Laurelwood PTA, thank you for all you do to make our neighborhoods and our school community safe places for our families.

Commonly Violated Traffic Laws Near Laurelwood Elementary School

police officer holding up a traffic ticket
  • 21212(a) CVC Helmet requirements: A person under 18 years old shall not operate a bicycle, skateboard, Razor scooter, in line roller skates, etc. unless that person is wearing a properly fitting and secured bicycle helmet.
  • 21202(a) CVC Bicycle operation: A bicycle must be ridden in the same direction as traffic and as close to the right hand edge of the roadway as possible.
  • 21460(a)CVC Double yellow lines: Drivers crossing over a double yellow line to pass a vehicle.
  • 22103 CVC U turn in residential district: No person in a residential district shall make a U turn when any other vehicle is approaching from either direction within 200 feet, except at an intersection controlled by an official traffic control device.
  • 21950(a) CVCCrosswalks: Not yielding to pedestrians in crosswalks along Teal Drive. 
  • 27315 Mandatory Seatbelt: (d)(1): A person may not operate a motor vehicle on a roadway unless that person and all passengers 16 years of age or over are properly restrained by a safety belt. (note: seatbelt positioned under the armpit or behind the back is NOT properly worn and in violation of this law.)
  • (e): A person 16 years of age or over may not be a passenger in a motor vehicle unless that person is properly restrained by a safety belt. 
  • 27360(a) Child Passenger Seatbelt: A person may not operate a motor vehicle on a roadway unless passengers under the age of 16 are properly secured by use of a safety belt and/or safety restraint system (carseat). A carseat must be used if the child is either 6 years or younger or 60 pounds or less.

Please familiarize yourself with these laws and talk with your children to ensure they are aware and remain safe while walking/biking near the schools.

Keeping Kids Safe - from the city of Santa Clara.

How to Drive In and Around School Zones

caution children

Remember to safely share the roads with school buses, pedestrians and bicyclists.  

  • Expect increased traffic in and around school zones;
  • Reduce your speed to a maximum of 25 mph;
  • Yield to bicyclists and pedestrians;
  • Always follow the directions of the crossing guard;
  • Do not make U-turns across double yellow lines, it is illegal;
  • Be prepared for the unexpected – children can be unpredictable (e.g. darting out into the street) or may ignore potential hazards (e.g. bicyclists looking for car doors opening from parked cars);
  • Yield right of way to buses at all times and make sure to stop when their lights/stop sign are deployed;
  • Be respectful of student safety patrol and parent volunteers helping to monitor school safety; and,
  • Do not park in red zones, handicap areas or block a crosswalk – even if just for a minute. 

If you have a specific concern, it can be reported to the Santa Clara Police Department (Post Date: 08/26/2016 by SC PD)