CAPE CORAL, Fla. — Longer wait times to drop kids off at Cape Coral High School (CCHS) have parents looking for ways to skip the line.
Shannon Derby, a mother whose child goes to CCHS says the days of quickly unloading on Santa Barbara Boulevard are being cut short.
Derby says an email sent to them by the school told families if they dropped students off in unauthorized areas, they would receive a ticket by Cape Coral Police.
“We didn’t know we were in violation of anything and then all of a sudden we got an email last night saying parents were gonna get tickets,” said Derby.
She says the poor design of the drop-off line at CCHS is the center of the problem.
“A lot of times parents are sitting and waiting to drop their kids off like an hour before school starts," said Derby.
On Thursday, after hearing the news, Derby told Fox 4 many parents began to question what law parents were breaking.
Cape Coral Police told Fox 4 that Florida Statute 316.1945, could be used, which prohibits stopping standing or parking in specified places or any place where official signs prohibit parking
This means signs that say “No Drop off” on Santa Barbara Boulevard, give police the green light to write drivers a ticket who disobey.
Cape Coral Police say dropping students off on Santa Barbara Boulevard during morning traffic is very dangerous.
Police say they are urging parents to use the appropriate drop-off loop. Also, the students that may walk or bike to school should be crossing at the crosswalks.
“It’s a dangerous situation but if people are continuously being concerned about it there has got to be another solution,” said Derby.
Derby says she would like to see the school find other ways to fix the problem.
Even offering a few solutions from other families.
“Maybe letting the kids get dropped off in the back of the school maybe having a front drop-off and a back drop-off,” said Derby.
Families like Derby’s who moved to Cape Coral within the last year, say they know how quickly the area is growing.
It's because of that, she says is an issue parents will continue to face until everyone joins together for a solution.
“it's just going to continue to get worse is my point. so if we don't come up with a solution what's gonna happen next year when you have another 500 kids at that high school," said Derby.
