TULSA, Okla. — Tulsa Public Schools delayed the planned parking lot expansion at Grissom Elementary until summer break as it works to secure the necessary permits from the city.
The delay pauses an ongoing effort to resolve a years-long dispute between parents and neighbors over traffic and blocked driveways during routine school drop-offs and pick-ups.
"Tulsa Public Schools is working closely with the City of Tulsa to ensure the proper permitting is in place to begin construction of a new parking lot and driveway on the campus," Tulsa Public Schools said.
Grissom Elementary's parking lot expansion was originally supposed to start during spring break. When 2 News visited the campus, no progress had been made.
Back in January, 2 News first looked into the parking issues at Grissom Elementary. Residents complained parents who park and walk their children to school block driveways and roads, creating a safety hazard.
According to one neighbor, the problem has been going on for about four or five years. The situation escalated to the point where one parent told 2 News off-camera that a homeowner sprayed her with water while she was walking her child to school.
"Move and get out of the neighborhood," the homeowner said.
Searching for a solution, 75 residents signed a petition to prevent parking on the roads near the school. Since the new rules and no-parking signs went into place, neighbors say the situation has improved.
"It’s night and day. It’s been an incredible improvement. The drop-offs and pickups are kind of a non-event now. It’s made it a lot easier to get in and out of our driveways," Daniel Stockley said.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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