As you may know, we are opening a new Montessori, public, charter elementary school in the Big Picture building called The Juniper School. This expansion of elementary services is critical to the community as the area continues to experience unprecedented growth. Currently, our in-town elementary schools are reaching capacity, which may have big implications on open-enrolled families, new families moving to the region and the schools. The opening of this new school will alleviate a lot of the capacity issues in our schools, as well as offer a new educational venue for families.
With that said, the new school will inevitably make an impact in the area, some of which may be less welcome to our neighbors including increased foot, bicycle and vehicle traffic in and around the area. In the spirit of partnership, we want to remind you of our access plans for the school and open up a line for communicating concerns and ideas.
Currently, we are planning to have ONLY buses access the alleyway alongside the school, between 12th Street and 13th Street. Buses will access the alleyway from 3rd Avenue by turning onto 13th Street, and will exit through routes available on 12th Street. In support of this, we ask all regular motorists to avoid using the alleyway between 7:45 a.m. and 8:15 a.m. and again between 2:45 p.m. and 3:15 p.m., Tuesday through Friday, and between 1:15 p.m. and 1:45 p.m. on Mondays, which is our early release day.
Additionally, we are communicating with our families to utilize street parking, metered or not, to access the school so as to prevent traffic issues. Included with this letter is our map of access areas to the school for buses and parents.
We look forward to a great school year and are excited for another great school opportunity for our students here in downtown Durango. Should you have ideas or concerns, feel free to reach out to me.
Thank you for your continued support.
Bradley Hardin
Principal - Durango Big Picture High School
(970) 259-0203