The Metro Planning Commission has proposed building a public pay parking lot at the Waverly Belmont Elementary school. Many neighbors and prospective WBE parents are opposed to this proposal for the following reasons:

1.This plan will threaten the safety and security of children attending Waverly-Belmont Elementary by opening the campus to the public during the school day.

2.This plan inappropriately calls for commercial establishments that cater to a late-night bar crowd to share a parking lot with a K-4 elementary school.

3.This plan will eliminate green space that should be used by the students for physical activity by overbuilding the parking lot beyond the school’s needs.

4.This plan will promote unchecked development along 12th Avenue, encouraging more large, auto-centric destination restaurants and bars instead of smaller, neighborhood-friendly establishments.

5.This plan will increase traffic around the school 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

6.This plan will bring more congestion onto our residential streets while doing nothing to alleviate the problem of commercial parking along residential streets.

7.This plan will create noise and light pollution to surrounding residential properties.

8.Metro public funds will be used to build this parking lot, essentially forcing taxpayers to subsidize a few private business operations along 12th Avenue South.

Please sign this petition to ask the MNPS School Board to reject the Metro Planning Commission’s proposal.