By Christine Heiser
Staff Writer

The number of cars parking on Wallace Road near Goffstown High School is out of control, say some who live nearby.

Several residents showed up at the selectmen’s meeting on Monday, Jan. 10, to back up Goffstown Police Chief Michael French’s plan to ban parking on the street.

Selectmen voted to allow the chief to draft an ordinance banning parking within a half mile of the high school, locat- ed at 27 Wallace Road.

Residents cited several problems caused by students who park on Wallace Road, including trouble seeing traffic when pulling out of their driveways, but say the students’ safety is their first concern.

“What’s more important? Their right to drive or their right to breathe?” asked Gregg Morgan, who lives on Stacy Road.

The school’s parking lot doesn’t accommodate everyone who wants drive to school, say school officials. Seniors are given first priority, but juniors and some sophomores also drive in, and have historically parked on surrounding neighborhood streets.

Goffstown began to ban parking on many the streets surrounding the school, Wallace Road became the only alternative.

French said about 70 to 80 cars park along the road during school hours. He sees the problem increasing as more students get their licenses during the coming semester.

The selectmen voted unanimously to consider an ordinance, which French will now draw up. The half-mile ban was proposed by French and the town’s highway safety committee, after looking at several alternatives, including offsite parking and a parking garage for students.

But the school doesn’t have the facilities to alleviate the situ- ation immediately, said Superintendent Darrell Lock- wood. The school plans to open up about 40 more parking spaces, but that won’t happen immediately and won’t solve the long-term problem.

There was some discussion by Robert Wheeler, board chairman, about a ban causing a hardship on residents who want to park on their own streets. But French said the ban is the last answer the committee could come up with.

“The committee has not come to you lightly with a ‘Let’s install signs and see what happens’ approach,” French said. Apublic hearing will be held so residents can weigh in on the plan. No date has been set for the hearing.

Residents have complained to police for months about students parking on people’s lawns, blocking driveways and walking down the street three abreast. They say these problems are not just annoyances, but safety hazards.

Robert Gurskis, who lives on McFarland Road, is a retired Manchester police officer who said the problems he sees going on every day are definitely violations, and that it’s only a matter of time before someone gets hurt or killed.

“It’s not even close to being safe,” he said.

Lockwood, answering some residents who said perhaps the students shouldn’t be allowed to drive to school, said they have every right to use their cars and for now, to park on Wallace Road.

Some students drive not only because they have after-school jobs, but because it saves them time over taking the bus, he said. He noted that some New Boston students have to get on the bus at 6 a.m. to arrive at the school by 7:40 a.m.

He said the district would not be opposed to a parking ban, as it has no other short-term alternatives.