LA HABRA : Pupils Take Parking Situation in Hand

A team of young traffic cops, wearing orange vests and waving orange flags, greets parents who drive up to Olita Elementary School each day to unload or pick up their children.

The fifth- and sixth-graders who direct traffic--22 in all--have converted the once dangerous and chaotic parking situation at the school into an orderly and safe routine, school officials say.

On a recent afternoon, parents simply drove in, picked up their children and left. The process involved less than 15 minutes as the youngsters directed the drivers.

No honking. No double parking. No jay walking. No unsafe traffic activity.

“Everybody follows the rules now,” said Toby Benskin, 11. “It used to be a madhouse. . . . Nobody could leave because everybody was double parked and everybody was honking their horns.”

Principal Linda Boznanski said parents would set aside 30 to 45 minutes to weave in and out of the driveways at the school when dropping off or picking up their children before the student traffic safety program began in December.

“It was absolutely crazy,” she said. “We were just waiting for an accident to happen.”

The traffic problems were out of control, according to Boznanski, teachers and parents.

So the school implemented the traffic safety program, which requires all student traffic officers to take an oath, pledging to make the school driveways safe for everyone.

Along with the job comes a good dose of self-esteem and leadership skills, Boznanski said. “The kids are learning to be responsible, and they see themselves as leaders and models for the younger students.”

Eight-year-old Jennifer Pham said she admired her older schoolmates. “They let us know where to cross the street and when it’s safe,” she said.

For Erlyn Donley, 12, directing traffic is more than just work.

“I like doing this,” she said, telling a driver to move ahead. “I get to talk to a lot of people and get to know them. It’s a lot of fun.”

Many parents shower the students with compliments for their efficient work.

“I’m really impressed with them,” Nannette Flournoy said while waiting in her car for her 8-year-old daughter, Amber. “They take what they’re doing seriously and it works.”