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TO: The Honorable Robert Cashell and Members of the Reno City CouncilRE: Our Lady of Snows School Request for Lander Street Abandonment and Closure

The Save Lander Street Coalition is highly opposed to Our Lady of Snows (OLS) School request toabandon Lander Street between Walker and Monroe citing child safety concerns during drop-off, pick-up,and recesses at Plumas Park. Closure of Lander Street will result in the loss of +/- 51 parking spacesserving the OLS school, OLS church, and the public mainly utilizing Plumas Park. Reno Municipal Coderequires the City Council to determine that the public will not be materially injured in order to find in favor

of an abandonment request. The public in this instance includes: users of Lander Street who come fromall over Reno to enjoy activities at Plumas Park; neighbors representing tenants and property owners;bicyclists and drivers who use Lander to avoid the traffic on Arlington and Plumas; OLS parishioners whoutilize all of these parking spaces during Sunday mass; and, most importantly, the children participatingin the youth soccer league and other Plumas Park programs, the children walking to Mount RoseElementary School (ES), and the children attending OLS parochial school!

The Lander Street Abandonment proposal is a very contentious issue. Closing Lander Street offers noguarantee that child safety conditions will improve. According to a city staff report, the OLS proposal willhave the opposite effect. It will increase traffic and limit parking. This will cause material injury to thepublic because it raises the potential for pedestrian and vehicle accidents in the neighborhood. With theloss of parking, Plumas Park users such as the youth soccer league and their parents, church goers, and

others will be forced to find parking throughout the neighborhood. Increased traffic and congestion onside streets not designed to handle the number of vehicles will make it unsafe and dangerous forchildren. It is possible that an unsuspecting younger child will be hit by a car because of increasedtraffic on these side streets. The closure of Lander Street creates a dangerous situation for youngstersparticipating in Plumas Park activities and students walking to OLS and Mt Rose schools. However,there are other solutions to the traffic/child safety issues that do not entail the closure of Lander Streetsuch as the following recommendations:

1. Suggestions for city staff consideration:

a. Establish an official no parking zone on Lander between Walker and Monroe Streets from 7:30 am to3:30 pm on school days. This would eliminate the dangers associated with the angled parking

currently utilized by OLS parents when dropping off their children. It saves the current parkingspaces during other times for use by church goers and Plumas Park participants.b. Close Lander Street between Walker and Monroe with a gate or heavy chain when school is in

session (i.e., 8:30 am to 2:30 pm). As in years past, Lander Street closure during school hoursenables safe access to Plumas Park during recesses and lunchtime.

c. Institute 4-way stops at Walker and Monroe Intersections with Lander. Mount Rose ES has 4-waystops where Lander intersects LaRue and Taylor Streets.

2. Suggestions for OLS school officials to consider:

a. Establish designated zones for student drop-off and pick-up. This option is predicated on approval of1a. For example, the designated zone for younger children could be on the west side of Lander

(closest to the school) while the zone for older students could be on the east side of Lander. Thisaction alone would distribute OLS parent car traffic on Walker and Monroe in a more orderly manner.b. Identify a waiting/parking area for parents outside of the pickup zone.c. Initiate a Traffic Guards Crossing Program. The program already in use by Washoe County schools

can be easily copied.d. If 1a. is established, have school and parish staff park at other locations such as the parking lots at

the Parish Hall and on Walker Street.e. Convert the parking lot on corner of Monroe and Wright Streets into a playground. It is already

fenced and would be of equivalent size (possibly larger) to the old play area that was given up for theexpansion.

f. Start a mandatory student and parent education program on traffic safety.

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3. Suggestions for Neighbors to consider:

a. Reactivate and participate in the Neighborhood Watch program with a special focus on child andtraffic safety hence benefiting all children in the area.

b. Respect the OLS school recess times by staying out of the upper soccer field when in use bystudents.

c. Clean up after their pets.d. Explore a pilot program with the Reno Police Departments SAVE project to monitor traffic concerns

in the local neighborhood.

The above measures offer multiple benefits. They are less costly to the school and the city. Churchgoers and Plumas Park groups can continue to use all of the Lander Street parking spaces on weekendsand after 3:30 pm on school days. The parking lot adjacent to the Plumas Park gym will not be impactedby parishioners. Neighbors wont be complaining about traffic, parking and noise issues. Trafficcongestion in the area may actually decrease if the school, city and neighbors come together to work onsolutions which benefit OLS school and the public.

In the event the above options are not acceptable, we recommend that the school hire a nationally

recognized traffic engineer that has been selected by members of the school, city staff, and neighbors toconduct an in-depth assessment of the current traffic patterns impacting this neighborhood and makeevidence-based recommendations. City Council approval of the OLS request for abandonment sets avery dangerous precedent for any private entity to seek closure of a city street for personal gain. It istime for City planners, school officials, and neighbors to come together in the spirit of cooperation andcollaboration to resolve our neighborhood traffic and safety issues.

Respectfully submitted this 31st day of January 2012,

Save Lander Street Coalition

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