Thomas Traffic Safety Alert

Dear Parents and Guardians,

At the PTA meeting last week, concerns were shared regarding the morning arrival/drop-off and after school/pick-up expectations. The discussion that followed uncovered some of the key problem areas and yielded a request to share the guidelines and expectations with our community again. In addition, we would like to try something new during our morning drop-off:

• ***NEW*** Instead of turning eastbound onto Thomas Street from Arlington Heights Road, consider turning at Olive Street and dropping off your student at the crosswalk at Belmont Avenue and Olive Street (by Olive School). This could help reduce the back-ups on Thomas Street and Belmont Avenue.

• PROBLEM AREA: PLEASE DO NOT drop-off STUDENTS north of Thomas Street on Belmont Avenue. This is causing an increased number of students to be crossed at Thomas Street and Belmont Avenue and creating dangerous back-ups on Thomas Street near Arlington Heights Road.

Please take a moment to review these expectations and share them with any relatives or family friends that drop off or pick up your child from school.

Morning Arrival Expectations:

• 7th & 8th Graders should be dropped off on Belmont Avenue in the designated area along the front of TMS.
• 6th Graders should be dropped off in the TMS Thomas Street/Arlington Heights Road parking lot.

End of Day Dismissal Expectations:

• The carpool line and student put up occurs on Belmont Avenue in the designated area along the front of TMS.
• Please be patient and do not ask your child to cross Belmont Avenue unless they use the crosswalk.
• Please do not ask your child to enter your vehicle while on Thomas Street.
• The TMS Belmont Avenue parking lot is restricted to cab pick-up and those with a specialized pick-up. Please only access this lot if you have been given permission by the school office.

Here are some general safety reminders:

• U-turns are NOT permitted on Belmont Avenue - this is extremely dangerous!
• Stay in the drop-off line - please do NOT exit the line early by going around the car in front of you. The line is likely moving slowly because of traffic at the parking lot entrance.
• Parking or pulling into our Belmont Avenue parking lot is NOT permitted unless you have a specialized pick-up or a TMS parking permit.
• Students crossing Belmont Avenue are only permitted to do so at the corner crosswalks at Thomas Street and at Olive Street. Please encourage your child to use the crosswalks.
• PLEASE DO NOT Student drop-off STUDENTS from cars heading northbound on Belmont Avenue! THIS IS VERY DANGEROUS!

We urge you to be patient and plan for extra time so that you're not rushed.

These traffic expectations are in place for safety reasons and when followed should allow for an efficient process. We kindly ask that you please be considerate of one another and adhere to these safety guidelines.

Thank you,

Lori, Nick, & Greg

We thank Mr. Vito for showing up each day and crossing our students in the freezing cold, through the snow, and always with a kind heart!

We have asked Mr. Vito to try to help improve our traffic flow on Thomas Street. As such, students crossing at Belmont Avenue and Thomas Street may be asked to wait a bit longer, BEHIND THE YELLOW LINES, and cross in groups. Please discuss this with your child and remind them that they need to wait for Mr. Vito behind the yellow line until he is ready to cross them. Instructions on this will also be shared in the Daily Morning Announcements.

Last week our School Resource Officers, Officer Malik & Officer O'Leary, taught the students about how Argos helps keep our community safe. Students asked if they could meet Argos and tomorrow Argos is planning to visit us. We are excited to meet Argos and are grateful to Officer Butler for taking the time to join us.

The TMS Office is open Monday - Friday 7a.m. - 3p.m.

Address: 1430 N. Belmont Ave. Arlington Heights, IL 60004

Phone: 847-398-4260

Fax: 847-394-6843