MKA gets parking lot, cafeteria approval

By Tina Pappas
for Montclair Local

Backups along Orange Road will be alleviated once a parking lot and driveway are upgraded at Montclair Kimberly Academy’s Brookdale Campus. The Montclair Zoning Board of Adjustment approved the school’s application for changes to the parking lot and pick-up and drop-off lanes. Montclair at its April 25 meeting. Also planned for the school is the addition of a cafeteria/auditorium. The school is located at 224 Orange Road.
The plans include a double lane loop for drop off and pick ups, a reduction in the number of parking spaces and the addition of more greenery at the school, which will increase privacy for local residents. Cars backing up along Orange Road and Warren Street have been problematic for some time with the current one-way double circulation patterns at the school.
The one-lane driveway would become two traffic lanes in the pick-up and drop-off school area, said Alan Lothian, traffic engineer.
The parking lot would be reconfigured from 83 spaces to 70 spaces, removing seven parking spaces closest to Orange Road. The proposed electric charging station will be in the southern parking area.
A six-foot fence will be installed along the northern property line.
Landscaping changes include the addition of two landscaped berms along Orange Road; one between the northern and central driveways and one between the central and southern driveways.
The number of pole light fixtures would be reduced from 22 to 14, said Leonard Savino, site engineer.
The timeframe for afternoon pick-ups was also drafted. Bus loading time will be at 2:15 p.m. and located at the far end of the cafeteria/auditorium addition. Parents would then enter the site and line up in the double-lane driveway near the school entrance. Buses would leave by 2:20 p.m. and parents by 2:45 p.m. Staff remaining on campus for another hour.
The proposed driveway will be located less than 200 feet from an intersection, which the board approved. A waiver was approved of parking spot aisle widths of 22-foot instead of 24-foot. The board also approved a 70-space lot instead of the 83 space requirement.