DASSEL, MN — The Dassel council once again had discussed about parking congestion on the east side of Dassel Elementary, but this time with the input of Dassel Principal Rob Nudell.
The problem happens when parents pick up and drop off kids on Guy Street, with some parents stopping in the traffic lane to pick up their children. There isn’t room enough for a line of parked cars and two active lanes of traffic, Benzing said.
Nudell suggested sidewalks be installed in the area, and having parents park north of Breeds Park. This would cause students to use two crosswalks instead of being picked up directly by the school building; a crosswalk across Guy and then William Ave. Once the children crossed this area to reach the new pickup location, Nudell noted that sidewalks would be needed to allow children safe pickup north of the park.
The issue will be discussed, including the cost of sidewalks, at a future meeting, Mayor Mike Scanlon said.
Here’s a novel idea - instead of spending thousands to bring down the noise level in the Ergot building, lets spend that money on sidewalks. What’s more important - children or a building that we have already dumped over half a million dollars in. I think the choice is pretty easy city council members. The taxpayers have had enough of spending our money on a museum - yes it’s nice and an asset to the community - but are we going to recoup any of the cost - how often is that community room rented out? Let’s use our tax dollars wisely, where they benefit the whole community. The sidewalks are a safety issue and have been brought up many times before - let’s do something about it.
sidewalks are also good for the overall health of the community. it is noted that cities with more sidewalks have healthier people. i rarely see people walking around dassel at all. they get in their car and drive 3 blocks to the grocery store and buy some potato chips.